Real Madrid's Goal Machine Threatens To Leave If Haaland Joins Club: Report

Karim Benzema could reportedly leave Real Madrid in the summer of 2022.

Benzema, who has been the leader of the Real Madrid attack for a very long time now, is unhappy with the club’s pursuit of signing Erling Haaland. If the Borussia Dortmund forward will land in the Spanish capital at the end of the season, Benzema will leave the club, reported Catalan publication El Nacional.

The French forward has made it clear to Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez that he would continue with the club only if he feels valued, has a significant role in the team and is one of the captains.

Haaland, along with Kylian Mbappe, is considered to be the future of European soccer and the successors of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Real Madrid are ready to go all out in order to sign both Mbappe and Haaland, according to Marca.com.

The El Nacional report has also claimed that Mbappe’s arrival at Real Madrid would not bother Benzema as both of them are from the French national team and share a great relationship. Mbappe would aim at the ring wing of the Real Madrid side, where Vinicius Jr. is already doing a fine job. Whereas Haaland would threaten Benzema’s role in the team as the area striker.

Benzema, who is contracted with Real Madrid until 2023, is also being linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), particularly if Zinedine Zidane takes over the charge.

Despite being 34, Benzema is Real Madrid’s best goal-scoring option. The striker has netted 24 goals and nine assists in 27 appearances for Los Blancos, across all competitions.

Benzema scored in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Athletic in the final of Supercopa on Sunday. The other goal was scored by Luka Modric.

Following the departure of Ronaldo in the summer of 2018, Benzema’s responsibility increased to keep the team afloat with goals.

In a recent interview, Benzema was asked about his life in the Spanish capital after Ronaldo’s departure, to which, the 34-year-old forward replied,” Apart from the statistics, besides scoring more goals, I don’t see what has changed in my football. I’m still the same player. We no longer bother to look at what a guy does on the pitch, just who has scored. And the next day, we consider him the best. It’s happened to me: If I don’t play a good game but I score, then they see me as the best. I don’t really like this type of football, but it will be more and more like that. It has become a sport in which you look at the statistics."