The race for the signature of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has begun, with April 30 reportedly being the deadline until when interested clubs can trigger his release clause of EUR 75 million. Though a number of top European clubs are eager to sign the Norwegian, the battle primarily seems to be between Manchester City and Real Madrid.
The transfer fee isn’t being seen as the biggest roadblock for clubs but meeting Haaland’s salary demands is a concern for a few. Clubs like Bayern Munich and Barcelona already seem to be out of the race for Haaland because of the money the deal would involve. At present, it seems like Manchester City have the best offer in place to lure the coveted striker.
As per a report in the Daily Mail UK, Manchester City want to make Haaland the best-paid striker in the Premier League. An offer of over £500,000 is on the table. It would make Haaland earn more money than Man City stalwart Kevin de Bruyne as well as Manchester United icon Cristiano Ronaldo. Both De Bruyne and Ronaldo reportedly earn about £385,000 a week at present.
In fact, Borussia Dortmund advisor Matthias Sammer had recently admitted that he ‘passed out’ on just seeing what exactly the Cityzens were offering Haaland.
“They will both benefit from each other, because Pep of course has certain ideas, which I was allowed to experience for three years,” said Sammer as a TV pundit for Amazon Prime. “I had whiplash when I saw the figures, I can’t even count that far.”
It is also being reported that the offer from Manchester City is so extravagant that Real Madrid would find it hard to match.
The Spanish giants are also in pole position to sign Kylian Mbbappe from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, another high-profile player who will get a huge fee. Hence, to pay both Mbappe and Haaland big salaries in Covid-affected times, that too in a single transfer window, is going to be a hell of a task even for a club as wealthy as Real Madrid.
The total outlay to get Haaland from Borussia Dortmund is expected to cost his new club near about £100m. Of this, £63million release clause will be paid to the German club while the remaining amount will go in the pockets of Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola and father Alf-Inge Haaland.
