Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are seen as the spiritual successors to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have dominated the football landscape since the late 2000s. As is expected, Real Madrid have been linked with a move to sign both.
Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, poured water over the speculation that Real Madrid was to sign either Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland recently. Perez spoke in the wake of the Super League, following the competition’s short-lived existence during which twelve ‘super’ clubs had announced their intention to leave Europe’s premier tournament for their own.
His remarks regarding Real Madrid’s inability to sign any ‘big name’ players were a direct response to those who opposed the formulation of the Super League. He claimed that with the clubs in financial distress, his own more so than others, no one would be able to afford the mammoth transfer fees that were attached to the players.
“In general, there will not be big transfers this summer,”
“When money does not flow from the rich clubs to the poor clubs, everyone suffers. It’s impossible to make signings like Mbappe and Haaland, in general, not just for Real Madrid, without the Super League.
“If we don’t sign Mbappe this summer, I don’t think any fan will shoot himself in the head. They know we’re doing our best, and if things don’t happen, it’s because they’re impossible”
Perez said.
Real Madrid fans almost expect their club to deliver a superstar signing each summer, as has become the custom at the club. Any worries that the club might not be able to deliver a big star were recently eased by the agent Mino Raiola. The Italian claimed that Real Madrid had the financial capacity to sign Haaland, whom he labelled as an opportunity big teams cannot afford to miss.
Meanwhile, Raiola’s words have been backed by a report in Spanish news outlet AS, which claims that Los Blancos are not only preparing to sign Haaland but also Mbappe.
The report claims that Real Madrid have delayed their plans to sign Haaland until 2022 when, reportedly, his release clause kicks in. The clause could allow teams to sign him for a much lower fee than they’d have to offer this summer. Furthermore, Borussia Dortmund have reiterated that the Norwegian will continue at the club for another year.
The report claims that the German giants are happy to act according to Real Madrid’s strategy, allowing them to keep hold of the player for another year. Furthermore, the relationship between the two clubs is also strong, which could further accelerate any future deal. Florentino Perez sanctioned the loan deals of Achraf Hakimi and Reinier in recent years, which allowed Dortmund to take in the players temporarily.
As such, Real’s focus has turned to Mbappe. The Frenchman has been linked with Los Blancos for several years, but a move could finally materialize in the near future. A key factor in this is Mbappe’s current deal with Paris Saint Germain, which is set to run until 2022. Real are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to pounce on the opportunity to take him to Spain.
Meanwhile, the order in which Haaland and Mbappe would arrive in Madrid could be reversed given the circumstance. Real Madrid could push forward the signing of Haaland to the immediate future should Dortmund miss out on a Champions League spot. In that case, they would push their pursuit of Mbappe back by one year.
