Man City, Real Madrid prepare for talks over record-breaking £295m swap deal for 161-goal duo
Man City and Real Madrid could allow Erling Haaland and Rodrygo to swap places in the summer transfer window, according to reports.
The Norway international has made a brilliant start to the new Premier League season with 11 goals in 10 matches for the Citizens.
His goals have helped Man City make a good start to the new campaign with Pep Guardiola’s side currently two points behind leaders Liverpool after an unexpected 2-1 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday.
But there is lots of uncertainty at Man City with the Premier League champions currently at the centre of a hearing into 115 charges leveled against them over alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules.
There has been speculation that, if found guilty, the Citizens could face a points deduction, relegation or even expulsion and that has led to rumours about the future of Guardiola and some of their players.
Haaland, who has scored 104 goals since joining Man City, is one of those players who’s been linked to other clubs with the 24-year-old already winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a Champions League in his first two seasons in England.
And now reports in Spain claim that Real Madrid are ‘willing to offer 200 million euros’ (£168m) for Haaland in a club-record transfer amid rumours that Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior could leave the Bernabeu.
It is claimed that ‘the possibility of joining Real Madrid, a club with such a rich legacy and boundless ambition, is tempting’ for Haaland with the Norway international expressing ‘his desire to explore new challenges’.
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And one thing which could help move the deal on is Man City’s interest in Rodrygo with the Citizens ‘launching a €150m (£127m) bid’ for the Real Madrid attacker.
The Brazil international ‘has become one of Pep Guardiola’s top targets’ as he prepares for the potential sale of Haaland but Real Madrid ‘do not want to sell’ one of their star players.
However, negotiations over a potential deal for Haaland could pave the way for Rodrygo to head in the other direction if the Norwegian leaves the Etihad Stadium.
Speaking earlier this year on rumours that Haaland could join Real Madrid, Guardiola replied: “For one report, for one journalist or one Twitter account, one Instagram account, do you think they are going to change something that is going to happen? It’s not going to happen.
“It’s going to happen when Erling decides to extend the contract or not, when the club decides to extend a contract or not, or when we have potential offers to him or not.
“If someone wants Erling, it’s easy. Call Man City and ask. It’s what we do when we want to sign someone. It’s not more complicated than that.”
When asked if he was keen to see Haaland stay, Guardiola added: “What do you think? That we don’t want Erling to stay here for one decade?
“We want him – for a long, long time at this club. For a long time. We are in love with him, we want him.”
Guardiola continued: “I don’t have info. He arrived last season and the impact was incredible. The beginning of this season, the numbers were really good too. He’s had two months injured.
“What happens in the future? Honestly, I don’t know. We are happy to have him, hopefully he’s happy to be with us. That is what we know. And the rest? I don’t know.”
