Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has revealed the reason for not signing Erling Haaland after missing out on Kylian Mbappe. Before signing up with Manchester City, Haaland was strongly linked with a move to Santiago Bernabeu.
Even though Real Madrid were mainly focused on Mbappe, Haaland was also linked with them. There were several reports suggesting that Spanish champions might go all out for the Norwegian if they fail to land Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain.
Perez, however, has made it clear that Real Madrid were not too much interested in bringing Haaland to the Spanish capital. In an interview with “El Chiringuito”, Perez revealed the reason behind the club’s decision to not go for Haaland.
‘We have Benzema’:
Speaking about Erling Haaland, Florentino Perez said that Real Madrid’s pursuit of Mbappe was not the reason behind the club’s decision to not sign the Norway star. Perez said that the sole reason behind not signing the former Borussia Dortmund striker was the presence of Karim Benzema.
Perez said that it was ‘impossible’ for Real Madrid to sign Haaland with Benzema in the team. The Real Madrid supremo further lavished praise on Haaland while also claiming that he has no idea about the player’s release clause.
“Mbappe deal didn’t create any problem with Haaland deal, absolutely. We have Benzema, so it was impossible to have him with Karim. We can’t sign Haaland to stay on the bench. Haaland is an amazing, fantastic player,” said Perez.
“I don’t know if Erling Haaland has a release clause into his contract with Man City. I’ve seen some stories about it but I don’t have anything confirmed. He’s great player but we have Benzema. It wasn’t linked to Mbappe,” he added.
Earlier this week, Manchester City announced the signing of Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth £51m. The fee, however, is expected to rise to £85.5m in total when agent fees, signing bonus and other costs are taken into account.
“This is a proud day for me and my family,” Haaland told mancity.com after completing his move.
“I have always watched City and have loved doing so in recent seasons. You can’t help but admire their style of play, it’s exciting and they create a lot of chances, which is perfect for a player like me.
There are so many world-class players in this squad and Pep is one of the greatest managers of all time, so I believe I am in the right place to fulfil my ambitions.
“I want to score goals, win trophies and improve as a footballer and I am confident I can do that here. This is a great move for me and I can’t wait to get started in pre-season,” he added.
Haaland has signed a five-year deal with the English champions. Before signing up for City, the Norway star showed his goal-scoring ability in Germany, scoring a stunning 86 goals in only 89 matches for Dortmund.