Real Madrid were in the race to sign Haaland last year, might have ‘worried’ Mbappe | OneFootball

Erling Haaland has left the footballing buzzing with his performances for Manchester City. Since joining the club last summer, the forward has racked up over 50 goals, breaking all sorts of records in the process.

Manchester City had signed Haaland for a fee of just €60 million, which, notwithstanding the player’s hefty salary, was a bargain by every sense of the word.

According to Mario Cortegana, even Real Madrid were aware of the situation and were pursuing Haaland last summer. Although the club denied it, they were in the front of the queue, along with Man City.

The Athletic journalist points out that Real Madrid chief scout Juni Calafat, who was the mastermind in signing the likes of Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, had met Haaland’s agent in February 2022, to discuss the possibility of a summer move to Santiago Bernabeu.

The report claims Kylian Mbappe was aware of the meeting. He even asked about the chances of Haaland signing for Real Madrid.

It must be noted that Los Blancos, at the time, were heavily invested in the pursuit of Mbappe. Everything suggested that the Frenchman would be the headline signing for the Spanish giants in the summer of 2022, after years of success at PSG.

But with Haaland also in consideration, Mbappe was understood to be worried. The player’s entourage had even informed the club that he would play alongside Haaland at Real Madrid. But the fact that Frenchman asked, suggested that he was worried by the prospect of playing with the Norwegian.

In the end, though, Real Madrid failed on both ends. Manchester City were able to secure the signing of Haaland, whereas Mbappe opted to renew his contract at Parc des Princes at the last minute.

There have been suggestions Real Madrid could enter the market for Mbappe this summer, owing to PSG’s internal conflicts. But Spanish media has dismissed those claims for now.

As for Haaland, he continues to be linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu, with Los Blancos eyeing him as a long-term replacement for captain Karim Benzema in 2024.