Sergio Agüero left Manchester City as a free agent at the end of last season and the Etihad club finished the 2021 summer window without bringing in a replacement for him.
The Citizens allowed Ferran Torres to seal a switch to Barcelona in recent weeks. His and Agüero’s exits will encourage the English champions to bring in a new striker next summer.
Friday’s edition of AS explains Pep Guardiola has ‘asked’ City to ‘make a definitive effort’ to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland after this season.
Real Madrid are also interested in the Norway international. However, Manchester City’s ‘petrodollars change the scenario’, since the La Liga giants cannot compete financially with the Premier League winners or another state-owned club.
The contracts of Gareth Bale, Isco and Marcelo expire in 2022 and the trio’s exit will lower the wage bill at the Bernabéu. This will help them sign Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé on a free transfer.
If Carlo Ancelotti’s side want to bring in Haaland, they will have to further make room in the salary budget. This, coupled with Guardiola’s ‘insistence’ can make it difficult for the Madrid club to sign the BVB star.
Real Madrid’s ‘only great advantage’ is that the striker ‘wants’ to play for them and has instructed Mino Raiola to reach an agreement with Ancelotti’s side ‘as soon as possible’.
The super-agent, who previously didn’t share a good relationship with Real Madrid, has now ‘regained harmony’ with the Spanish club’s leaders. This could make it tough for City to persuade Haaland to join them over Los Blancos next summer.
