Erling Haaland isn't in the best form of his life, but that shouldn't prevent him from starting this Wednesday evening at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16. The atmosphere of the Spanish capital often gives him wings, after all.
With Manchester City, he has never lost. And, in his last appearance, on December 10, he scored the penalty that gave his team the victory (2-1) .
He has 1 win and 2 draws in Madrid and did not play in the Citizens' defeat in the second leg of the Champions League play-offs (1-3), on February 19, 2025.
That day, from his vantage point in the presidential box , Florentino Pérez must have thought to himself that this situation would never have arisen if he had signed the striker a few months earlier, as he had considered doing. It's an idea that the Real Madrid president hasn't entirely abandoned.
In the autumn of 2024, shortly after Real Madrid secured their fifteenth European title, the Saudi Pro League set its sights on signing Vinicius for a hefty fee. Disappointed at not receiving the Ballon d'Or, he was being pressured by some close to him to give in to temptation. The Madrid management then prepared for the Brazilian's departure and envisioned a formidable partnership between Kylian Mbappé and Haaland: the Frenchman on the left wing, the Norwegian in the center.
Ultimately, Vinicius stayed and only Mbappé arrived. But Real Madrid, having sounded out the "Cyborg's" entourage, at least learned that his ultimate dream was to one day wear the jersey of... the White.
A release clause, the amount of which remains unknown
This was the second time Real Madrid had tried to sign Haaland. The first time, in the summer of 2021, he had been reluctant to pay the €75 million release clause in his contract with Borussia Dortmund. If a third attempt comes along, he will have to pay considerably more.
Because in the meantime, the current Premier League top scorer (25 years old, 22 goals) extended his contract with Manchester City until June 2034 for an estimated gross monthly salary of €2.6 million, making him the highest-paid player in England. However, a release clause, the amount of which has never been disclosed, was included in the new contract. It's conceivable that this clause would be unattainable for Getafe or Espanyol. But what about Real Madrid?
For the time being, this issue is no longer really relevant in Madrid. Or rather, it's been put on hold. But Vinicius, who will only have one year left on his contract at the end of the season, still hasn't extended his stay in the capital. And as long as this situation persists, the Real Madrid management won't definitively turn the page on Haaland, remaining just as keen on the idea of pairing him with Mbappé, in a remake of their Galácticos policy from the early 2000s.
We share equipment supplier and Cherki is a mutual friend... but we haven't really had the chance to meet.
While the two players like each other, the two men don't really know one another. They share the same equipment sponsor (Nike) but haven't yet had the opportunity to participate in a joint advertising shoot. They now have a mutual friend, Rayan Cherki, but have never really had the chance to meet behind the scenes. One of the rare times this happened was at Le Bourget airport where, quite by chance, they were each taking a private flight at fairly similar times, to different destinations.
But so far, Mbappé and Haaland have mostly avoided each other. Of the three encounters between Real Madrid and Manchester City over the last two seasons, only one has seen both star strikers on the pitch (February 11, 2025, a 3-2 victory for the Spanish club in the first leg of the playoffs). And this Wednesday evening, one will be missing again: Mbappé, sidelined with a left knee injury .
They will likely cross paths on June 26th in New York during the World Cup, with their respective national teams. Perhaps one day they'll even wear the same jersey? With Real Madrid, you can never be sure of anything, especially if they don't win a major title this season.