Real Madrid News
Real Madrid have been tracking Haaland since 2017, but prioritised Vinicius, Rodrygo deals
A recent report from MARCA has offered an illuminating piece on Real Madrid and their interest in Erling Haaland.
As per the Spanish news outlet, Haaland had been on the books of Real Madrid since 2017. The youngster’s name would often come up at the Valdebebas offices.
Real Madrid signed Martin Odegaard back in 2015 and had taken note of the Norwegian market. Two years later, they had been alerted by Haaland, who was scoring goals for fun.
Haaland, though, at the time had not made his professional breakthrough. Real Madrid, therefore, did not stress the young Norwegian much and wanted him to make a breakthrough before they consider an approach.
Real Madrid, at the time, had other priorities. In 2017, for example, the club secured the signing of Vinicius Junior, who they believed could go on to achieve bigger things than Haaland. Soon enough, they also reserved their resources for Rodrygo.
The possibility of signing Haaland was not considered at the time. The player soon joined RB Salzburg for a fee of around €8 million. Even then, Real Madrid had kept tabs on the Norwegian and in one way or another, they were willing to pounce.
However, it was Borussia Dortmund who stepped in. The aggressive approach from the Bundesliga outfit, coupled with their sporting project convinced the late Mino Raiola, as the forward joined the club on a cut-price deal.
Ever since his move to Dortmund, Haaland was never quite close to joining Real Madrid. His enormous growth meant that the club had to play keep up, in terms of the financial requirements and the sporting project.
Haaland, ultimately, opted to join Manchester City to play under Pep Guardiola last summer. And having broken all sorts of records in his first season, the forward is set to cost a fortune, even if his reported release clause becomes active in 2024.
Despite that, Real Madrid have a keen interest in signing the Norwegian goal-machine in 2024 to replace club captain Karim Benzema.
In a major update, AS reports that former Real Madrid midfielder and club legend Toni Kroos has taken his first step towards starting his coaching career.
The former Germany international has told the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) that he is interested in joining the coaching course reserved for professional footballers.
Real Madrid tried to bring Kroos back
It is no secret that Real Madrid considered bringing Toni Kroos back into the club’s structure after the end of the last season.
The club president, Florentino Perez, had wanted Kroos to have a daily presence at Valdebebas rather than making occasional appearances after his retirement.
Jose Angel Sanchez and Kroos spoke after Perez expressed his desire to see the German working at Valdebebas every day. However, they did not find the right moment, time or structure to give his return a clear form.
A comeback remains one of the possibilities most desired by Madrid supporters because of Kroos’ charisma and what he represents at the Santiago Bernabeu. Neither side wanted him to return simply for the sake of it, so the door remains open for the future.
The relationship between the two parties is excellent, and both know that the opportunity to work together again will eventually come.
Taking it step by step
For now, Kroos continues to run the academy he established in Boadilla, enjoying the opportunity to help develop younger players.
After two years away from the competitive side of football, however, he is beginning to look towards the dugout as a possible next step in his career.
Kroos currently holds coaching qualifications that allow him to work up to the third tier of Spanish football.
This is possible because professionals with at least seven years of proven experience and significant involvement at the elite level can gain direct access to accelerated coaching courses.
That means Kroos could coach a team in Primera Federacion, but the German wants to take things gradually.
Kroos has already informed the RFEF that he would be interested in joining the coaching course reserved for professional footballers during the 2027/28 season.
The course taking place this season is not available to elite former players, with UEFA limiting each campaign to 20 places.
With his current qualifications, Kroos could work as an assistant coach, but he cannot yet take charge as a head coach in either the top flight or the Segunda División.
But completing that programme would allow Kroos to obtain the UEFA A licence, which would enable him to coach teams at any level.
