Erling Haaland was rumored to be heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid while he was still at Borussia Dortmund as many fans were convinced that the Norwegian superstar would head to the Santiago Bernabeu over any other club this summer. The rumors even grew to the extent of him combining up front with PSG star Kylian Mbappe for the Los Merengues.
Well we all know how that finally panned out with the France striker finally opting to stay on at the Parc des Princes, while the Norwegian wunderkind Haaland’s preference was for Manchester City and has made a perky start to life in the Premier League.
There was a particular point in time, when queried about not signing Haaland, Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez, had even suggested that if the former Borussia Dortmund striker had been signed, his place would have been on the bench as he would be behind Karim Benzema in the pecking order at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Haaland has now seen it fit to respond. As reported by Express, the Manchester City striker told the September 2022 edition of FourFourTwo:
“It happens in football.
“I like to have a laugh myself, but I don’t think too much about outside talk. I can’t. It means I’m not focusing, and I’m not at my best. It’s good to have some fun, though.”
Thus, it looks like Haaland has not taken the comments to heart and is playing his football, without thinking about it.
Now, there is certainly a discussion to be had about whether Haaland would really have to sit on the bench if he did come to Real Madrid.
Insofar as current form is concerned, Benzema is a more lethal striker in the goal area and obviously has much more experience delivering on the big stage. And as for link-up play, the Frenchman is way ahead.
Conversely, Haaland has a much stronger physical presence up top. While not forgetting that he is also 12 years younger than the Frenchman. Haaland is way ahead of where Benzema was at 22 years of age, which goes to say a lot about his pedigree.
Surely every Real Madrid fan would have been tickled pink to see Haaland at the club and manager Carlo Ancelotti would have definitely found a way to play him up top alongside Benzema instead of alternating between the both of them or relegate the young Viking to the bench.