Erling Haaland will decide on his Borussia Dortmund future next week, incoming sporting director Sebastian Kehl claims.
Haaland has been phenomenal since he joined Dortmund in 2020. He has scored 28 goals in 29 appearances this season after scoring 41 in 41 last season.
The Norwegian has been the subject of much transfer speculation. The last few months saw the biggest battle for his signature take place when it was announced that the time of his £64 million release clause activation was drawing near.
Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Juventus all approached his former agent Late Mino Raiola, whose demands helped to rule out most of the contenders.
Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Manchester City were the last teams standing and City has been touted for the past two months as the prime candidate to sign the 21-year-old.
Borussia Dortmund are also hoping they can keep the striker until his contract runs out next season at least.
In all of these, it has appeared that Haaland has not chosen his next destination and Kehl, who will be taking over officially from Michael Zorc in the summer, has revealed that Haaland will officially make his announcement next week, when the Bundesliga wraps up.
“[I expect] clarity in the next week,” Kehl told STAHLWERK Doppelpass on SPORT1. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he moved on in the end.”
If Haaland leaves, Dortmund already have a replacement lined up in his successor at Red Bull Salzburg, Karim Adeyemi. Kehl also commented on the German’s signing, saying that this week will bring some clarity on the young striker’s signing.
Mbappe is more complete than Haaland, says Pique
Meanwhile, Haaland has been downplayed in favour of Kylian Mbappe in terms of football ability by Barcelona defender Gerard Pique.
Both players have been touted as the next big rivalry, much like the Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi rivalry that had football on strings for the past decade and a half.
Mbappe is already a multiple trophy winner with the World Cup under his belt, but Haaland is yet to achieve much in that regard, winning only the DFB-Pokal with Dortmund in 2020/21 to add to his two Austrian Bundesliga titles and one Austrian Cup.
While Haaland could land at Man City and improve them greatly as they seek to be the greatest club in England, Mbappe is set to join up with Real Madrid in the summer. Many believe that these moves will officially kick start their rivalry.
Pique has weighed in on the debate on who is better, claiming that Mbappe is better because he is a more complete player. The Barcelona defender said on Sky Sports’ The Overlap, “They are two of the best players right now. They are very young and they both have the potential for the Ballon d’Or for sure.
“I think Haaland is more a pure striker, very strong and scores a lot of goals. Mbappe is a more complete player – can play as a winger or striker. I didn’t have the opportunity to play against Haaland, I played against Mbappe. It’s difficult to choose.”
