Mino Raiola has suggested Borussia Dortmund may be tempted to sell Erling Haaland this summer.
Haaland’s impressive form for Dortmund has made him one of European football’s hottest properties, but the German club have maintained that the Norwegian will not be sold this summer.
It has been reported that Haaland has a release clause of £65m, which only comes into force in 2022, and Raiola hinted BVB could be tempted by a higher offer this year.
Mino Raiola: “[Erling] Haaland is interested in two things.
“Scoring goals, because he’s a little bit like Cristiano [Ronaldo] or Zlatan [Ibrahimovic]… it’s his obsession, in a positive way.
“And winning titles.”
[AS] pic.twitter.com/Z9ZYw6Bs0R
— Goal (@goal) May 1, 2021
With Dortmund struggling to qualify for next season’s Champions League, the overwhelming majority of the continent’s top clubs are circling with intent, but Raiola hinted Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona represent the 20-year-old’s preference.
Real president Florentino president last week claimed that the collapse of the European Super League represented a major blow to the Spanish champions’ hopes of signing Haaland, but Raiola believes they still boast the financial wherewithal to secure a deal.
Barcelona, too, are understood to be in a dire financial state but with Lionel Messi said to be championing the signing of Haaland, Raiola believes the Catalan giants would also be hard for his client to turn down.
Lionel Messi has reportedly agreed to take a pay cut at Barcelona on the condition that the club use the cash saving to fund a bid for Erling Haaland.
— Bolarinwa Olajide (@iambolar) May 1, 2021
He told AS: “Today, the official stance of Dortmund is this. But I’ve got another view, I think that if a good opportunity comes up and everyone would be happy, we’ll put it on the table.
“Haaland is interested in two things. Scoring goals, because he’s a little bit like Cristiano or Zlatan… it’s his obsession, in a positive way. And winning titles. No doubt he’ll pick somewhere where he feels those two things go together best for him.
“It’s really hard to lie. When a club like Barcelona or Real Madrid comes in for you, with so much history and being such a big club, it’s hard to say no.
“PSG is getting into his group of big clubs, City is trying, Juve have always been there. The league they play in is important too. PSG plays in the worst league of the big clubs. Bayern are in an attractive league, but we know they always win it. In Spain there are three clubs with a chance.
“I don’t know if Real Madrid can afford him, because I haven’t studied their books. But I think they can. I think they all can.”
While Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc claimed last month that the German club have no plans to sell Haaland this summer, Raiola said: “Our position is clear: we are planning with Erling. We are very relaxed about that. Of course, we have been following the situation. But we had a very, very good talk with Mino and his father just recently.
“I don’t want to go into those talks now. From a certain point on, we may no longer be able to influence what the future will bring.”
