The 20-year-old is wanted by the world’s best teams and his agent believes he is the heir to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Erling Haaland will be the star of the “new generation” of football players according to Mino Raiola, who says only 10 teams – including four in England – can afford to sign the Borussia Dortmund striker.
Haaland was being tracked by many of the world’s top teams because of his exploits at Red Bull Salzburg before he opted to join Dortmund in January 2020.
The 20-year-old’s stock has continued to rise since his arrival at the Bundesliga side, having scored 43 goals in 43 appearances in all competitions.
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What has been said?
Haaland’s agent claims he is the successor to Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and says every club will want to sign him.
“It is obvious that everybody is looking at Erling as one of those potential new future stars because it’s so difficult to do what he does at his age at his level,” he told the BBC.
“He will be one of the future stars of the next decade because we see that stars such as Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo and Messi are coming to an age where everyone asks themselves: ‘How long can we still enjoy them?’ So everyone is looking for the new generation.
“Only a maximum of 10 clubs can afford to buy Haaland and give the platform you would like after you’ve been in Dortmund, and four of those clubs are in England.
“I don’t think there’s a sports director or trainer in the world who would say ‘not interested’. It’s like saying: ‘Is there a Formula 1 team who would not be interested in having Lewis Hamilton?'”
Which clubs want to sign Haaland?
The Norway international is contracted to Dortmund until 2024, but he is expected to move on to one of Europe’s biggest sides before then.
Barcelona have been touted as one of the top candidates to land the striker and coach Ronald Koeman said on Tuesday that any move for him will depend on the winner of the club’s upcoming presidential election.
One of the candidates, Toni Freixa, said signing Haaland or Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe is “absolutely possible” and the type of transfer the club should be pursuing.
Former Real Madrid coach Jorge Valdano has encouraged the club to prioritise Haaland over Mbappe. Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that Manchester United are monitoring Haaland’s progress and Germany legend Lothar Matthaus has urged him to join Bayern Munich.
Further reading
- Raiola ‘didn’t want to cause problems for Man Utd’
- Lewandowski discusses potential MLS move
- Haaland: I feel like a leader at Dortmund
