Why Manchester United, Real Madrid Cannot Sign $81M-Worth Erling Haaland Until 2022

Real Madrid and Manchester United reportedly will have to wait until 2022 to sign talented striker Erling Haaland.

Haaland, who moved from RB Salzburg to Borrusia Dortmund this January, scored in the German club’s 4-0 victory over Schalke as the Bundesliga returned Saturday after a break of nearly two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dortmund signed the Norwegian striker for a transfer fee of $21 million, which was eventually raised to $25m in agent fees. When it was announced Haaland was looking for a change during the January transfer window, Real Madrid were one of the clubs interested but the club thought the transfer fee was a bit too much for a 19-year-old.

On the other hand, Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskajer even flew to Austria to speak to Haaland in person. It was reported that the deal did not go through because Solskjaer, who managed Haaland earlier in Norway, failed to promise the midfielder regular starts.

Haaland recently became the first-ever teenager to score 40 or more goals in a single season, a feat that eluded the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Considering his recent impressive performances, Dortmund slammed a price tag of $81m in Haaland’s release clause but according to a report in Standard Sport, the clause is expected to not trigger until 2022.

It was further confirmed that Haaland was not going to leave Dortmund this summer when his agent Mino Raiola claimed that he would like to take one of his players to Real Madrid this summer, but he sees Haaland in Germany for at least one more season.

As of now, Real Madrid’s top target continues to be Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Kylian Mbappe. If the La Liga giants manage to sign Mbappe, who is currently contracted with the French side until 2022, they would be OK with waiting for an extra year for Haaland.

Moreover, it was earlier reported that even Juventus had approached Salzburg with an offer for Haaland. Had the deal gone through, the youngster would have had a chance to share the dressing room with the legendary Ronaldo, who moved to the Serie A side ahead of the 2018-19 season.

However, Haaland refused to join Juventus because the "Old Lady" reportedly were planning to put him in their Under-23 squad.