If it were up to Erling Haaland, he would just do what he does best: score goals. Last Friday he was in Borussia Dortmund’s 5-1 win over the SC Freiburg twice as successful again – and yet afterwards it became clear that his thoughts must be about more than the question of how to get the ball past the opposing goalkeeper.
“The club started urging me to make a decision. But all I want is to play football“Said Haaland after the game in an interview with the Norwegian tv-Channel “Viaplay“. BVB-Managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke had no understanding for the statements. “There are currently no talks or appointments, so I can’t understand it“said the 62-year-old.
Nevertheless, there are many indications that in the near future it will be clear whether Haaland will still be in the team of coach Marco Rose, who already has him with him, next season RB Salzburg trained, will play. “If it happens that he stays, we will be very happy“said Watzke. The probability is low, however, because the facts indicate that BVB can only enjoy Haaland’s goals for a few more months.
The contractual situation
At the end of 2019, the Norwegian signed a contract in Dortmund until 2024, thus sealing his move from Salzburg to the Ruhr area. Haaland had an exit clause built into this contract, as Watzke has now officially confirmed. “There is no pressure to negotiate that we now have to extend the contract. It’s just the issue, does he pull a clause or not? We will all do our best not to wait until March or April to find out” he said in December at “Amazon Prime“.
The amount of this clause should be in the range of 75 to 80 million euros plus additional payments. An enormous sum for a 21-year-old top striker, but a bargain in current transfer times – despite Corona. 19 players have cost at least 80 million euros since the summer of 2017. With all the extra class, Haaland would only be one of many in the series of record transfers.
Last summer, BVB could have received significantly more for its star player, and various clubs are said to have been willing to pay a fee in excess of 150 million euros. Watzke, sports director Michael Zorc and his successor Sebastian Kehl repeatedly emphasized that under no circumstances should Haaland be sold.
The consultants
Nevertheless, Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola and his father Alf-Inge Haaland made it clear with a media-effective trip to Barcelona and Madrid, among other places, that they are already working on a contract. “A transfer last summer would definitely have been better for them economically. But you looked after the well-being of the club, after the fans, the team and the success. I have a lot of respect for this decision. Dortmund have balls“Said Raiola at the end of 2021 on “Sport1”.
The Italian star consultant continues: “He can and will take the next step. Bayern, Real, Barcelona, Manchester City – these are the big clubs he can go to. We all knew when we switched to Dortmund that this step would come.”
And Team Haaland’s goal is apparently that this step be taken this summer. Raiola is notorious for enforcing his players’ wishes by any means necessary. Dortmund also benefited from this when he supported Henrikh Mkhitaryan in 2013 in staying away from the training camp at Shakhtar Donetsk in order to force a move to BVB. In 2017, Watzke and Zorc agreed to a sale Manchester United against their will because they feared the same thing if they hadn’t agreed to Mkhitaryan’s change request.
This time Raiola doesn’t have to resort to such drastic measures to transfer Haaland. Another club just has to be willing to pay the fixed transfer fee – and there are enough clubs that are.
The prospects
Would the FC Bayern don’t look closely at Haaland’s situation,”we would be total amateurs“Said Hasan Salihamidzic once. However, the sports director and his colleagues are apparently not in the front line in the fight for the center forward. “We have Robert Lewandowski. He will also score 30 or 40 goals for a few more years“, said its chairman Oliver Kahn in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Nevertheless, this topic continues to smolder in the media.
Favored are the international heavyweights Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Manchester City. Barca President Joan Laporta made it clear that Barca could sign Haaland despite billions in debt. “Everything is possible. Everyone in the world should prepare for the fact that as a great player are back on the market“said the 59-year-old.
The big rival from Madrid is in the race for Haaland. Watzke recently even said on “Bild-TV” that “big interest“from Real Madrid be”guarantees“. Unlike Bayern, the “Royal” are quite open about looking for a successor for their 34-year-old top striker Karim Benzema. Haaland should be that.
The situation of BVB
Whether they put pressure on or not – the Dortmund movers and shakers need clarity as soon as possible. “Because it is so important to us, we have to be able to plan with certainty from a certain point“said Kehl, who will inherit Zorc in the summer, in the “Sport1 double pass”. “How am I supposed to go about planning my squad, how we can replace an Erling Haaland, if we don’t see a tendency at a certain point in time as to whether the player will stay with Borussia Dortmund or not? That’s just legitimate, that’s professional.“
The search for a successor will be difficult, so it must be started early. The competition knows about the high income from a possible Haaland sale and will demand corresponding prices. In addition, the market is not peppered with adequate center forwards as numerous as in other positions.
Whatever the outcome: Borussia can already call themselves the big winners in the Haaland cause. Dortmund paid 20 million euros for the move to Salzburg, which took place on January 1, 2020 – and the return goes far beyond the at least 55 million euros that BVB would collect if it were sold in the summer.
Haaland scored 78 goals in 77 competitive games – an almost unbelievable rate. This also leads to gains such as large (international) media presence and more popularity. And at best this season to titles. Dortmund is in DFBCup as defending champion and one of the favorites in the Europa League and is six points behind Bayern in the championship – and someone like Haaland would like to say goodbye as German champion.
Status: 01/17/2022, 12:02