Real Madrid Reportedly in Pursuit of Erling Haaland And Kylian Mbappe
03:31 GMT 01.01.2022 (Updated: 03:32 GMT 01.01.2022)
© REUTERS / BENOIT TESSIER
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Real Madrid have set their sights on a summer for the ages. In an almost unprecedented move, the Spanish football giant has ambitions to bring both Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to the Bernabeu.
Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are, at the moment, far and away the two most valuable players in the world. TransferMarkt has Mbappe valued at €160 million and Haaland at €150 million, with the next most valuable player coming in at €100 million.
Acquiring the pair, however, will only cost Madrid €75 million - plus the pair's wages. Mbappe is a free agent and Haaland has a €75 million release clause in his contract that can be activated next summer.
While Madrid are known for flexing financial muscle, they’ve secretly been one of the more austerely-run clubs. Beginning in 2017-18, a five-season span, Real Madrid’s net-spend has been €3.95 million.
Looking at Madrid’s expenditures, it appears the club has been eyeing a big splash. In 2019-20, Madrid had a net spend of €220.5 million. In the two transfer windows since, they’ve spent €31 million on new players and sold €181.7 million worth of players.
Madrid also worked hard to get high earners off their books over this period. They allowed James Rodriguez to go to Everton on a free transfer, let Sergio Ramos leave as a free agent, and Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Marcelo, and Isco are all out of contract at the summer.
Madrid’s quartet of free-agents-to-be will open up a whopping €1.63 million in weekly wages and €84.8 million over the entire year. Next summer, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, Nacho Fernandez, Mariano Diaz, Marcos Asensio, and Dani Cabellos are all out of contract as well.
It has been reported that Haaland will seek a £30 million contract, and it is likely that Mbappe will look for a contract with a similar annual value. Real Madrid can financially afford the two, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be successful.
While Mbappe has for months signaled that he intends to sign with Madrid when his contract at Paris Saint-Germaine runs down, Haaland has shown no overt preference for the club.
Sources have suggested that Madrid are the frontrunners for Haaland’s signature, but a host of Premier League clubs and PSG - if they lose Mbappe to Real - will all make a run at the Norwegian.
If Madrid are successful in their pursuit to acquire the two best young players in the world for €235 million less than their value, it may go down as the heist of the century.
Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 Second Leg - Borussia Dortmund v Sevilla - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany - March 9, 2021
© REUTERS / LEON KUEGELER
Mbappe & Haaland are in Their Own Tier
Their combination of age and production is nearly unmatched in the history of the sport. There is overwhelming evidence that the pair have had superior starts to the careers of Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentine star Lionel Messi.
Looking at Mbappe, Haaland, Ronaldo, and Messi’s statistics, from age 19 through 21, it becomes apparent that either Haaland or Mbappe could go down as the greatest player in the history of the sport.
Over this age range, Ronaldo played a total minute-load equivalent to 105.2 90 minute matches between the Premier League and the Champions League, and produced 58 goal contributions.
Messi played 94.6 90s between La Liga and the Champions League, and produced 96 goal contributions.
Mbappe featured in 94.3 90s between Ligue 1 and the Champions League, and secured 127 goal contributions.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi, right, and Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo during the Champions League group G soccer match between FC Barcelona and Juventus at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020
© AP Photo / Joan Monfort
Haaland, who is still in the midst of his age 21 season, has played 65.6 90s, between the Bundesliga and the Champions League and produced 92 goal contributions.
On a per-minute basis, Haaland and Mbappe blow Ronaldo and Messi out of the water. While it’s what Messi and Ronaldo would end up doing that put them in the running for best ever, Mbappe and Haaland are well on their way to making a run for the distinction of the greatest of all time.
The best comparison for what Haaland and Mbappe have been able to accomplish at such a young age, according to some, is the “original” Ronaldo. Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima earned the nickname O Fenômeno for a reason, he was the greatest young player the world had ever seen.
Ronaldo had already bagged 54 goals in 57 appearances for PSV Eindhoven as a 17 and 18 year-old when he went to Barcelona for a world-record transfer fee. His age 19 through 21 seasons, spent at Barcelona and Inter Milan, saw him score 73 goals and 21 assists in 83.9 90s between La Liga and Serie A.
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima
© AP Photo / Alan Diaz
Factor in his exploits for the Brazilian national team, and Ronaldo appeared destined to take the mantle of the greatest player. Unfortunately, Ronaldo suffered a series of knee injuries that sapped him of the game-altering athleticism that he possessed. While he remained one of the best players in the world, he ceased to be the most unstoppable player.
Mbappe and Haaland have both produced like Ronaldo at the same age. What the future holds for them is unknown, but the idea of one team having two phenomenons, dos fenómenos, harkens back to the days of the Galacticos.
