Madrid?’ I think he’d say, ‘Great’,” says Falk.
“I think he will play for Madrid one day, and
they have a special plan for him, because his
dad is very focused on the sporting aspect
and puts that before money. Raiola is the
other way around. But in the end, it’s the
Haalands who decide.”
It might not happen this summer, though
- Madrid president Florentino Perez has been
obsessed with Mbappe for years.
“Madrid will go for Mbappe, and that’s
enough for them,” says Karlsen. “Karim
Benzema is still good and Vinicius Junior is
doing well. I don’t think it’s a wise decision
for Erling to go to the same club as Mbappe.
It’s more of a fantasy football move.
“Even if Madrid have the money, it’s not
like they have to spend it all in one window.
The package they’ll end up paying Mbappe
will be costly enough, so it has to be the
Manchester clubs and Chelsea, with Madrid
as an outsider.”
Falk agrees. “If it’s not Madrid this summer,
I think the Premier League is the next step.”
But, sorry Liverpool fans, not you – because
“they don’t operate in this way”, according
to Karlsen. And as for Chelsea? The Blues just
spent £98m bringing Romelu Lukaku back to
Stamford Bridge.
“Lukaku is 28, he’s got at least four years
left at the top level, but my impression is
that if Chelsea really want someone, and
a player of Haaland’s calibre becomes
available, they might find a way to justify
the price,” says Karlsen.
The favourites, then, reside in Manchester.
Reports say United have Haaland high on
their list – to be fair, who doesn’t? – yet
they too have committed funds elsewhere.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s deal lasts until 2023, and
the Portuguese has no intention of watching
from the bench. The Red Devils also have
a turbulent relationship with Raiola, to say
the least. Alex Ferguson despises him for
taking Paul Pogba away in 2012, and Raiola
has won few friends at Old Trafford with his
constant criticism of the team. “I don’t give
a f**k if I never do another player with
Manchester United,” he snapped in March.
But as former Reds stopper Rio Ferdinand
shrugged when pushing Haaland’s case,
“Sometimes you’ve got to dance with the
devil.” Falk says Haaland “likes” the club but,
for his part, Karlsen wouldn’t recommend
the move. “United have too many forward
options,” he says. “City are more stable.”Eastlands, then, could be where the pieces
all fall into place. Pep Guardiola badly needs
a striker and, having missed out on Kane last
summer, the club’s financial powder is dry.
Guardiola has said that if the club can spend
£100m on a player who can produce for five
or 10 years, they might do it. And then there’s
Alfie’s past at the club. When FFT sat down
with Erling last year, he admitted to having
a soft spot for City – his older brother, Astor,
has even posted a picture of a baby Erling in
a City shirt.
“Of course you become a fan,” the deadpan
Dortmund striker told us. “You support them
because you support your dad.”
“I’m not sure it will be City,” rebuffs Falk.
“They will talk, of course. Raiola will talk with
anyone who can pay. I just don’t think Erling
is a Guardiola player, based on what Pep did
at Bayern and how he likes to play. But if
they don’t get Kane again, there aren’t that
many other strikers at that level. It depends
on Kane and on Madrid and Mbappe.”
The only certainty is that Haaland will
move – and that Raiola will run the show.
“He’s got all the cards and is controlling the
dialogue,” says Karlsen. “He’ll wait for bids
and play hardball. Once he’s got a club on
the hook and has pushed negotiations far
enough down the road, he’ll bring others
in to drive up the price.”
If Karlsen could advise Haaland, which
club would he pick?
“Everyone wants to play for Real Madrid,
but I don’t think this is the right time,” he
admits. “I’d say the club that seems the
most stable, best run and the best placed to
present a very good sporting project is City.
And then you’ll just have to live with the fact
that he might not be a ‘Pep player’. Good
coaches always find room for good players.
Anyway, it’s not like Pep will be there forever.
“In the end, it’s about what Haaland wants.
The money is really of secondary importance,
because all clubs will pay a lot. He’ll be rich
either way. So I have a hunch that he’ll want
to play in England. I think the intensity and
culture there appeals to him.”
Haaland, of course, was born in Leeds
when Alfie had just joined Manchester City,
although they soon moved back to Norway.
“I don’t remember much about England,”
Haaland admitted to FFT last year. England,
however, might well come to remember him.22 FOR
2022“RAIOLA WILL WAIT FOR
BIDS AnD PLAY HARDBALL.
HE’LL UP THE PRICE WHEn
A CLUB IS On THE HOOK”
Above Could
Haaland be
heading for
Manchester City?
Below “This is
easy with no
keepers, lads”