Florentino Perez has denied that Real Madrid’s pursuit of Kylian Mbappe hindered them from completing a deal for Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian striker joined Manchester City earlier this week in a £51 million deal after the Premier League champions triggered a clause in his Borussia Dortmund contract.
Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid were all said to be interested in signing Haaland.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side was interested in Haaland, but spent much of the last year pursuing a deal for Kylian Mbappe, whose contract with the Ligue 1 club expires this summer.
Despite appearing to be on his way to the Bernabeu, Mbappe stunned the football world by announcing an eye-watering new contract at the Parc des Princes, effectively ending Madrid’s pursuit.
With the Spanish champions eventually losing both players, Perez has spoken out about Haaland’s move to City, claiming that he would have only been a substitute anyway.
Perez told El Chiringuito: “Mbappe deal didn’t create any problem with Haaland deal, absolutely.
“We have Benzema, so it was impossible to have him with Karim.
“We can’t sign Haaland to stay on the bench. Haaland is an amazing, fantastic player.”
Perez also added that he has heard about a potential release clause in Haaland’s City contract, but denied knowing if there was any truth in the reports.
