"I don't buy madrid's bluff. they might want and even have the money to go big and get haaland and mbappe next summer"
Sadly that is not true.
Their stadium will be finished, their income back and beyond pre pandemic levels.
Also, Bale, Modric, Benzimer all off the wage bill.
Madrid will blitz the market next summer, they could sign Mbappe, Haaland and Pogba for just 70m, and afford the crazy wages.
Real Madrid will be back, don't doubt that and they are still a dream move for a lot of top players, wonderful location, great culture and still a quality league, and huge media exposure for the players that want and need that to build their personal brand!
La Liga is right now a decadent league and it won’t miraculously recover next season, even with Mbappe. Ligue 1 is still shit even with him, Neymar and Messi. No doubt Madrid is a draw for players, but it’s amazing to me how people still believe their own marketing even now. For instance, if you polled 17 and 18 year old players here in Brazil today asking where they want to go to play, Real Madrid or Manchester City, I would bet money that we would beat them.
The problem for me to believe Haaland would go there I have already said a few times here.
First of all, with the money they had for Mbappe who they would get for free next season and was a harder deal to make this past summer, they could have gotten Haaland. Dortmund would have taken that 180M that we and Chelsea would have offered. Why didn’t they? Because in my opinion, even if they leak to the press (and the press over there sure loves to sell these stories) they’re interested in him, which benefits them in a way they like, which is to look strong in the market, I don’t really think they are right now. They will surely get Mbappe, which will add a lot to their books. You can’t say they got so many players out and assume they can bring in the same expenses. The reason they got players out is partially the same as Barcelona, they need to get their finances fixed. Why in the world would they bring in Haaland when they already have Benzema, a player who isn’t showing signs of physical decline and in fact, is still as brilliant as ever when you watch him. A fantastic striker all around. They aren’t exactly lacking in the position even for replacements. Are they really going to do a luxury signing that would add a shitload to their currently very delicate wage bill? Would I be shocked? No; but I certainly think it’s unlikely.
Then there is the side of the player. He is building his status as the star or the decade alongside Mbappe. As he won’t have a national team to win anything with, he needs to rack up titles, individual awards and numbers/stats (goals, assists etc) in a massive way in a big market. He knows this and so do his advisors (father and agent). Why would he move to a club where he would have to share goals with Mbappe and Benzema, risking being maybe the third top scorer there, and also having to share the already limited spotlight in that league right now? It could be even worse with the Champions League. He is the face of Dortmund today and in my opinion, he wants to move to a club where he would have to be the face as well. That is why I look at us in a unique position. What other club offers that right now — the best and most competitive league, an easy ticket for being the club’s top goalscorer, the face of the team for marketing purposes etc?
I have given the Ronaldo example before. He become a legendary all-timer player the moment he moved to Real Madrid. Imagine he had left United and joined Barcelona, not United. What would have been of his career being there alongside Messi instead of profiting off being his rival, while both had a free way to build up very impressive numbers that shaped their legendary status. To me, it’s the same situation Haaland would have moving to Madrid now. Of course, he could very well move here, stay for, say, six years, and then move to Madrid, or Barcelona if they have recovered by then. And I wouldn’t mind that. But right now, I just can’t believe he would choose to move there. Madrid needs to spend on Mbappe and a player like Pogba, not Mbappe and Haaland. That just doesn’t make sense. Unless somehow Mbappe decides to stay at PSG or maybe move elsewhere, which seems very unlikely at this point.
The last time I posted something like this, a poster commented something like “Haaland won’t make his career decisions based on what another player does”. I’m sorry but I don’t believe that at all. I’m not saying he would be fixated on Mbappe necessarily, but on how he would fit in at a club. And Raiola is good at giving a player a career path and smelling where he would be needed the most. The way player and agent will make the most money isn’t just on a transfer or fees, but on becoming the biggest star possible and reaping what comes of that.
I am willing to hear the ways in which people disagree with my points, of course
