Erling Haaland was spotted waving to all four corners of Signal Iduna Park following Borussia Dortmund’s 3-0 win over Greuther Furth on Wednesday. The Norwegian superstar has been having a great time at Dortmund, however, his goodbye sort of wave fuelled transfer rumours ahead of the January window in the process. Reports suggest that several of Europe’s elite including Premier League giants Manchester United and record European Champions Real Madrid have expressed interest in the 21-year-old.
However, the Bundesliga club’s sporting director, Michael Zorc, downplayed Haaland’s wave incident and reassured fans that the Norwegian will stay put in the January transfer window, goal.com reported.
Speaking after Dortmund’s 3-2 loss at Hertha on Saturday, Zorc was quoted saying to Sky Germany, “I saw the pictures afterwards too, it looked a bit strange, but I don’t think it was a deliberate action. I spoke to him again briefly and asked what was behind the gesture and he answered nothing at all,” he added.
Haaland is currently contracted at the club until 2024 and has a €75 million (GBP 64m or $84m) release clause set to become active next summer. Manchester City, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain have also been linked with the 21-year-old, but Zorc insists Dortmund won’t be pressured into selling.
“Of course, we would like him to stay at Dortmund in the summer. We don’t have to give him up, not for financial reasons either,” he told the publication. “We have a long-term contract with him, so he has to act first and not us. Everything would be fine for Dortmund if it stays that way,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzkeconfirmed in an interview with Bild that Real Madrid are among the teams pursuing Haaland. The club chief believes La Liga would be Halaand’s next destination, but hasn’t completely given up on retaining the forward as talks are ongoing with his agent Mino Railoa.
“It doesn’t matter where you go, everyone talks about Erling Haaland,” Watzke said.
“All I know as a guarantee is that Real Madrid are very interested in him. I could name 25 other teams now, but I know that for sure,” he added.
Haaland has had a fabled career so far, scoring 145 goals in 185 matches for country and club, he has also acquired high success with Dortmund, scoring 76 in 74 games thus far. At present he only has one title with Dortmund, the DFB-Pokal last season. But things could change drastically if the club wins another significant title, like the Bundesliga or the UEFA Champions League (UCL).
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