Real Madrid News
Just in: Real Madrid and Barcelona’s superstar target reaches agreement with Man City
Erling Haaland is set to become Premier League’s highest-paid player at Manchester City
According to fresh reports from the reliable Mike Keegan, Manchester City have agreed to terms with Erling Haaland’s representatives for a deal that would see the highly sought-after striker move to the Premier League.
A long-time target for many giants of the game, including Barcelona and Real Madrid, the Norwegian is set to join the Premier League giants after they trigger his release clause of around 76 million euros ahead of this summer.
The Borussia Dortmund man was a tricky target, however, as his agent Mino Raiola and father Alfie Haaland were demanding hefty fees in commissions.
If the deal does materialise, it would stand to be the signing of the year so far, and more major developments are set to follow next week.
Manchester City will reportedly offer Haaland a very lucrative contract with a bumper wage of over 600,000 euros. He would subsequently become the highest-paid player in England by far.
The only concern with regards to the 21-year-old’s potential transfer from Borussia Dortmund was his fitness level and injury status, which looks to be either resolved or is considered no issue for the Premier League giants.
Pep Guardiola has been pushing for the signing of a top-class striker for a while now, and after narrowly missing out on Harry Kane last summer, City are set to make one of the biggest moves of the year to show they mean business.
It is a bummer for Real Madrid, who were considered to be in a great position to sign him as well, and even Barcelona. But it was always going to be difficult to match Manchester City’s financial offers.
However, one positive takeaway for Real Madrid and Barcelona is that the earlier the Norweigian’s feature is sealed, the earlier the La Liga giants can focus on their remaining transfer plans. The two clubs are looking to make strong reinforcements in the summer.
Real Madrid News
Jose Mourinho was always clear about getting rid of Real Madrid midfielder this summer – report
Real Madrid’s summer transfer window was largely successful, not only in terms of securing key arrivals but also in terms of letting go of players who had no place in the dynamics.
One player who stood out in the second category was Dani Ceballos as the Spanish midfielder was frozen out of Real Madrid’s starting dynamics for several years before his eventual departure.
In the end, the club simply let the player leave as a free agent by accepting a contract termination as they saw the salary space freed as a win compared to his presence.
Mourinho’s clear stance
As confirmed in a recent report by Diario AS, Real Madrid’s new manager Jose Mourinho has no doubt that he did not count on Ceballos for the ongoing season.
Being the straightforward communicator that he is, the Portuguese manager directly informed Ceballos that he did not count on him in any capacity, speaking out loud about a fact that was known as an open secret for a long time.
Having clarity that his situation at the club was not going to change, Ceballos pressed to leave and eventually had his way as the club allowed him to walk out of the front door with no transfer fee.
Times were tense
The Spanish outlet also add that the decision to let the player leave with a contract termination was not easy for Real Madrid to accept, especially given that it is a last resort.
In the negotiations between Ceballos and the Real Madrid hierarchy, there were some moments filled with tension and disagreements.
In fact, there was even an initial exit agreement that was reached which was cancelled in the hope of a better outcome.
Eventually, however, both parties reached a fitting resolution and Real Madrid enabled the player’s departure without any hurdles and Ceballos went on to join Real Betis.
Even that move required the player to take a massive cut on his salary, but the saga worked out well for both clubs as the player. From Real Madrid’s perspective, the space created on the team’s roster was worth its weight in gold.
