Mino Raiola and Alf-Inge Haaland’s meetings with Barcelona and Real Madrid on Thursday weren’t the start of the operation to secure a move for Erling Haaland this summer according to Diario AS. In fact, it was a meeting they had with Michael Zorc, Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director, the day before, Wednesday.
Raiola conveyed to Zorc Haaland’s desire to move to a top-tier European outfit, amidst the feeling that he’s outgrown his surroundings at Dortmund. Zorc’s position is that there’s no way for him to leave this summer, that the deal had been for a verbal pact to pave the way to allow him to leave in the summer of 2022. The figure on his head in recent days has been reported as €180m, an extremely high sum that reflect’s Dortmund’s lack of interest in facilitating a deal.
Much hinges on whether Dortmund are able to qualify for the Champions League this coming season. Haaland has 20 goals in his first 14 games in Europe’s elite competition so far, and he knows that playing his football there is essential to his progression. Dortmund are far from assured a position next season, with the German side currently fifth in the Bundesliga, four points behind Eintracht Frankfurt. They face Manchester City in the quarter-finals of this year’s edition.
