This time last year, there were plenty of headlines that Real Madrid were going to bring in both Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe in the summer of 2022. As it happened, they ended up with neither.
The Frenchman decided to extend his contract at Paris Saint-Germain, securing what was thought to be at the time the largest contract in football history.
Haaland meanwhile agreed to join Manchester City instead, although his father has remarked that Haaland would like to experience all of the major leagues. Equally, Real Madrid were supposedly ruffled by Alf-Inge Haaland’s statement that Los Blancos were only the third choice last summer.
Speaking to Diario AS, Haaland’s agent, Rafaela Pimienta has highlighted what she thought to be the two main reasons he went for Manchester over Madrid.
“He came from a football family you know. His dad, he already played you know, so he grew up around that and you see the photos of him as an infant with the shirt of Manchester City.”
“So I think it was a personal thing, and then I think he also wanted to experience the Premier League too.”
Pimienta has taken over from Mino Raiola as the head of their agency, following the latter’s passing.
There seems little doubt that Haaland is unlikely to remain at City for his entire twenties and it may be that he yet dons the white of Real Madrid.
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