Erling Haaland may have an extra impetus to choose the Etihad over the Bernabeu
Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund may have an added reason to select Manchester City over Real Madrid this summer, with Puma reportedly willing to increase his proposed sponsorship terms if he joins the Etihad.
The two European clubs are said to be the only two clubs in the hunt for Haaland’s signing. Both City and Madrid want to tie up one of the summer’s major transfer sagas as quickly as possible.
Last year, there was a lot of hype about Norweigan, but when the specifics of his £63 million release clause became public, all suitors chose to hold off until the end of the season, when it becomes active.
According to reports, Manchester City and Real Madrid remain belligerent, but City are said to have the upper hand as most terms of the agreement have already been agreed upon. However, nothing has been inked on paper and finalised yet, and Madrid may still hope for a late twist in negotiations.
However, Haaland may have little reason to stray away from the Etihad. With sports labels vying for the Norwegian’s endorsement, the website Goal.com claims that Puma is attempting to persuade him to join City, whom they also sponsor, and that if he does join in, he would be offered and entitled to even better financial perks and fringe benefits.
Despite a recent social media snapshot showing Haaland wearing an Adidas jumper, the German brand is said to be at the forefront after his deal with Nike having expired in January this year.
In light of his father’s history with the club, images of him as a boy in Sky Blue jersey, and a readily available number 9 role up top in Pep Guardiola’s sinuously cruising
tiki-taka playing style, Haaland may have already been leaning towards City at Madrid’s expense, and with their potential pursuit for Les Parisiens striker Kylian Mbappe, his chances of settling in at the Bernabeu looks to be shrinking.
A well settled and a fiery Karim Benzema would be difficult to dislodge from the starting eleven, and many are predicting their ace talisman to win the Ballon d’Or following another outstanding Champions League performance.
Haaland may have been watching with eager anticipation as both of his summer suitors battled it out in an engrossing match that demonstrated why exactly they are two of Europe’s finest. City took an early two-goal lead thanks to Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus.
But Benzema was clinical in pinching one back. And the tie followed the same pattern, with Guardiola’s side extending their advantage before being cut back their lead, ultimately resulting in a 4-3 defeat for Los Blancos.
As one of Europe’s most prolific goal scorers, Haaland is now in his third full season in Dortmund. He is currently sitting third for goals scored charts in Bundesliga, only behind Robert Lewandowski and Patrik Schick.
He scored an astonishing 41 goals in all competitions, but injuries have limited him to just 27 games this campaign. When wages and agent payments are factored in, the entire cost of a summer transfer is going to be enormous, but at 21 years old, both City and Madrid are going to take their chances on the investment, irrespective of the size of the deal.
Guardiola has declined to comment on the speculations concerning whether he will choose the English outfit over the Spanish league leaders.
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