Reporter Han Bing reported on the transfer of the world's most high-profile superstar, no doubt the whereabouts of Mbappe and Haaland this summer. Mbappe, who has broken through the real madrid gate in both legs of the Champions League knockout rounds, has almost no suspense about joining Real Madrid this summer with the reversal of the elimination of Paris. In contrast, the competition for Haaland is even more intense. Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barca and Paris Saint-Germain are all eyeing the Norwegian prolific goalscorer, and Barca may even join the Spanish Professional League-led Citibank loan deal to form a huge €250 million deal to sign Haaland.
Mbappe's path ahead is clear, and Haaland's fate began to become clear last week. British media widely reported that Manchester City had met with Haaland's side on several occasions and reached a preliminary agreement, and was negotiating personal terms with Haaland. Although the Spanish newspaper "Daily Sports" subsequently claimed that Haaland's side denied the British media report, it is undeniable that Manchester City has an advantage that other opponents cannot match in the competition to sign Haaland.
Before last week, Haaland's future fate seemed destined to be linked to Spain in the European media. The Norwegian striker himself has publicly stated that he prefers Spain and hopes to have the opportunity to try his hand in La Liga. Real Madrid and Barca are favourites for Haaland, and while Mbappe is Real Madrid's number one target this summer, they don't rule out signing Haaland at the same time. Even, Real Madrid also tried to consider "pre-signing" Haaland, allowing the Norwegian to stay at Dortmund for another season, signing real Madrid next summer so that the Galaxy Fleet could pass the regulation of the Financial Fairness Act.
Barca's Laporta has always seen Haaland as a "strategic goal" against Real Madrid's signing of Kylian Mbappe, just like Ibrahimovic vs Kaka, Neymar vs Bale, And Suarez vs. J. Ronaldo, which is a huge star deal that Barca must complete. Although Barca's financial situation does not allow harland to sign this summer, Laporta believes it is confident to convince Haaland of Barca's reconstruction plan under Harvey.d'Ivoire. Together with liquidated damages (€75 million), signing fees, broker's commissions and an annual salary for a 5-year contract, Barca will pay haaland up to €250 million.
To this end, Barca is very likely to backfire and choose to accept the (CVC) Citibank loan agreement that it has been refusing to join. Barca hope to reach a special agreement with the Spanish Professional League to maximize salary space and transfer fee space. However, at least for now, Barça has not made a substantial breakthrough in financing.
Real Madrid and Paris are focused on Mbappe, Barca lack financial support, and Manchester City are clearly targeted and financially strong, naturally taking the lead. The Times claimed that Manchester City sporting director Bergiristan and football director Belada had travelled to Monaco as early as February to negotiate several rounds with Haaland's agent, Rayola. Since City missed Kane last summer, the younger Haaland has been the number one target for City's reinforcements.
City are not only willing to offer 80 million euros, more than Haaland's liquidated damages (75 million euros), but also provide the Haaland family and Rayola with a lot of signing fees and commissions, totaling 120 million euros. Rayola has already negotiated with interested giants and City clearly have the upper hand. In addition to more transfer fees and income, Haaland's father, who played for Manchester City for 3 years, has maintained a good relationship with the Blue Moon, which is an advantage that other giants do not have at all. The British media generally believes that Manchester City has enough confidence to sign Haaland, not only because of the above advantages, but also because other competitors are not paying attention and competitiveness at this time.
Haaland's home team, Borussia Dortmund, is also constantly urging Norwegian strikers to make early decisions in order to find a replacement in advance. City, which has been lacking a competent centre-forward, will also not wait for the summer window to close, and the British media generally believes that Haaland will determine its fate in the coming weeks. Beyond this deadline, City will abandon the Norwegian, shift the target and quickly solve the No. 9 position that Guardiola has been strongly demanding reinforcements.
While Haaland is the most prolific super-center in recent years, with a €75 million penalty of only half the market valuation, signing a Norwegian centre-forward at this price is definitely a great value for money. But Spanish media have pointed out that the 21-year-old Haaland has been injured four times this season alone, missing a total of 16 games, accounting for 40% of the matches that Dortmund has played this season. These 4 injuries were all muscle problems, most recently the gluteal flexor muscles, which have not yet returned, and there were previous problems with adductor muscles.
Although Haaland has 23 goals and six assists in 20 appearances this season when he is healthy, Real Madrid already have bale and Eden Hazard, two superstars who have been "scrapped" by injuries. Borussia Dortmund have also been very unstable this season due to his injuries. Consecutive Champions League defeats to Ajax and Sport of Portugal were eliminated, and the Europa League knockout rounds were eliminated by the weaker Glasgow Rangers. Although the league is still in second place, it has long been unable to compete with Bayern for the title. Among them, there is a considerable reason for the loss of strength caused by Haaland's absence.
Haaland also had four injuries last season, missing a total of 14 games, also with muscle fiber strains, gluteal flexors and knee injuries. Last season, Haaland made 41 appearances and 12 assists in 41 games, two consecutive seasons of peak stats. But in fact, since Haaland began to make a splash in the Norwegian Super League 5 years ago, he has had different degrees of injuries in each season since then. With his moves to Red Bull Salzburg and then Borussia Dortmund, Haaland has improved his performances but has also increased the frequency and extent of injuries.
The Bundesliga is similar to the Premier League, both are fiercely opposed leagues, and the degree of confrontation in the Premier League and the pace of the game are better. Whether Haaland can adapt to such a fierce confrontation in the Premier League and the high-speed pace of the game is somewhat doubtful. In particular, his muscle problems have gradually increased in recent years, especially the hip flexors and adductors have been on continuous attacks for 3 consecutive seasons, and whether they will recur in the future is the primary risk that must be assessed for any club that tries to sign him.
Of course, for Manchester City, the state of Haaland in health is tempting enough. The steady efficiency of averaging more than 1 goal per game in the Bundesliga for three consecutive seasons, coupled with the transfer fee cost of only half the market value, is worth a fight. After all, it is difficult to find a "super-first-class" scorer like Haaland in the current market, who has been tested for three consecutive seasons in the five major leagues.