Real Madrid or Barcelona? Where will Erling Haaland end up and what would be best for him?

With Kylian Mbappé having one foot in Real Madrid, Erling Haaland is becoming the hottest commodity on the transfer market. But which team would be best for him?

According to some pretty reliable sources in Spain, Erling Haaland prefers a transfer to La Liga, ideally to Real Madrid or Barcelona. The Premier League is not to his liking, in fact, when his agent Mino Raiola named the clubs where he could move, the two Spanish giants were the first to fire.

So let’s just count on the possibility that Haaland will indeed leave for Spain in the summer. However, he has a choice, he is wanted both in the capital in Madrid and in the east in Catalonia. What are the advantages and disadvantages of transferring to each club?

Real Madrid

The obvious option if Haaland wants to win trophies immediately. Real Madrid are building more galácticos, together with Mbappé and Vinícius, the Norwegian striker could form a dream attacking trio that can spell for maybe another 10 years. At the same time, they are no longer talents for the future, they are all finished footballers, so they could start winning immediately.

Plus experienced footballers like Kroos, Modric, Benzema, Alaba, Casemiro, from whom he could get more experience. Moreover, Real Madrid are building an ultra-modern stadium that will be the best in the world. This can also be a certain motivation to perform at this stand on a regular basis.

So what could be the disadvantages? It doesn’t always do any good to have too many big stars playing together. Haaland is used to Dortmund playing everything on him, he is the main face of the team. Now he’d have to share all the chances, penalties and attention with Mbappé, possibly even Vinicius. And that’s not counting Benzema, who turns 35 next year, but his performances are still at a huge level.

Practically, this is the only obstacle to Haaland’s move to Madrid. Whether the two players could toughen up their egos to play together. If they could, it would be hard for anyone to stop the White Ballet. And the motivation to win the Champions League and Ballon d’Or is the biggest thing in football, isn’t it?

Barcelona

On the face of it, there isn’t much reason why Haaland would want to move to Barcelona. The Catalans are drowning in a huge crisis, they have no money, they can’t register new signings, they can’t offer big salaries to new players, the squad has weakened insanely and it’s not at all certain whether they will make it to next year’s Champions League.

However, there is one but that corresponds with the position at Real Madrid. While in a white jersey, the 21-year-old Norwegian would not be the only star, in Barcelona it would almost be Haaland FC. The Culés would build everything around Haaland, he would be an indispensable star, the main marketing face of the club and, if successful, an absolute idol.

Some players crave this more than team success. Look at Neymar, who left a functioning Barcelona for PSG, where he was the main face, for the same reason. How Haaland has it set in his head, only he knows at the moment.

Moreover, although Barcelona is in a shocking state, it still has a huge sound and is one of the top three clubs in the world. If the management makes good moves, in the future the Culés can be on top again – Pedri 19 years old, Gavi 17 years old, Ansu Fati 19 years old, Nico 20 years old.

And Haaland could be part of that rebuild. After all, it’s almost certain that in a few years Barcelona will recover and be a force in European football again.

A fan’s view

Whatever the outcome, the football fan is unlikely to be able to complain. In the case of the first option, we would see Mbappé and Haaland working together in the same team, which could be a fantastic spectacle.

If the Norwegian footballer opts to leave for Catalonia, another rivalry would be born for years to come that would strongly resemble the one from the last decade. On the Real Madrid side Mbappé, on the Barcelona side Haaland, this is how Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi competed for many years.

El Clásico and La Liga in general would have a huge boost, and the Spanish league would in turn take over from the Premier League a piece of the viewership and attraction that has shifted from the Iberian peninsula to the British Isles in recent years.

Source: Livesport