Although Erling Haaland recently completed his transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City, Spanish media believe that Real Madrid are already thinking about bringing him to the Santiago Bernabeu as the ideal replacement for Karim Benzema.
Los Blancos were one of the prime contenders for the signature of Haaland this year. With them already having an agreement with Kylian Mbappe, Florentino Perez turned his eyes towards the Norwegian striker. However, Manchester City eventually won the race for the player and triggered his release clause with Borussia Dortmund to bring him to the club for which his father played.
That transfer saga was followed by Real Madrid receiving a double whammy when Mbappe decided to stay put at Paris Saint-Germain and extend his contract. Madrid had taken the Frenchman’s arrival almost for granted and despite dreaming of pairing Mbappe and Haaland, the two most talented forwards of the future, they ended up with neither.
“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.”
Perez said in his recent media interaction, as per Marca.
Now, according to Diario AS, Madrid have already set their eyes on bringing Haaland to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2024 in order to replace Benzema who is entering the final years of his career.
It was only last week that Haaland’s transfer to City was made official and the Norwegian hasn’t even made his debut for the club yet. However, discussions on his contract have already begun in the press due to him having a release clause with the English champions.
Haaland reportedly has a release clause in his contract with City that will become active in two years. That clause will allow him to seek a move away from the Etihad Stadium in Manchester if an offer of 128 million pounds is submitted to the club.
2024 is also the period when Benzema’s contract with Real Madrid will be nearing its end. The club is likely to take full advantage of the release clause and go after the striker in a couple of years to bring him to the Spanish capital.