Real Madrid: Michael Owen sets a condition for the arrival of Erling Haaland

Michael Owen believes that Real Madrid should part ways with Kylian Mbappé if they truly want to attempt to recruit Erling Haaland. The former striker of the Madrid club finds it hard to envision both stars playing together in the Spanish capital. The Manchester City striker has been regularly linked with Real Madrid since his time at Borussia Dortmund. Despite his long-term commitment to the Citizens, Haaland continues to fuel rumors of a possible departure to Santiago Bernabéu.

Asked by Goal.com about this hypothesis, Owen still believes that Real will not seriously seek to attract the Norwegian as long as Mbappé is present in their squad. “As long as they have Mbappé, I can’t imagine them investing such an amount,” said the former English international. According to Owen, the main difficulty would lie in the positioning of the two players. Mbappé prefers to play on the left side but also enjoys occupying the center, while Haaland is primarily a number 9. “In my opinion, you have to choose one or the other. I don’t believe it’s possible to have two of the best strikers in the world, Mbappé and Haaland, in the same team”, he stated.

The former Ballon d’Or also mentioned the financial and sporting difficulties that such an operation would entail. “I suppose that Mbappé would have to leave for that to happen”, he added. Owen finally referred to Real Madrid’s history to warn against the temptation to accumulate stars. “They already tried the Galactico approach many years ago, in my time. Just gathering exceptional players isn’t necessarily the solution”, he recalled.

Haaland Still in Real Madrid’s Sights

Erling Haaland had already been reported as being on Real Madrid’s radar when he was playing at Borussia Dortmund. The Norwegian forward ultimately chose Manchester City in 2022, without quelling speculation about a future departure. Even signing a long-term contract with the English club in 2024 has not completely extinguished these rumors. On his part, Kylian Mbappé joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2024, arriving free after the end of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain. The French striker quickly established himself as one of the main offensive assets of the Madrid club.

With Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, and Mbappé already present in their attacking sector, Real Madrid has considerable firepower. The Spanish club also invested over 140 million euros this summer to bring in Yan Diomandé. In this context, a potential transfer of Erling Haaland would represent a particularly ambitious operation, both financially and sportingly.