Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland says he “felt it was time to say something” after accusing his club of pressuring him to make a transfer decision earlier this month.
The 21-year-old has scored 80 goals in 79 appearances since joining BVB from Red Bull Salzburg two years ago, and that astonishing record has rendered him one of the hottest properties in world football.
Dortmund would understandably like to retain the Norwegian for as long as possible, but with a release clause of around £64m believed to kick in this summer, the chances of Haaland happily sticking around in the Bundesliga are slim to none.
Links with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City have been persistent, though the La Liga side also hold a long-standing interest in Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé, who as it stands it out of contract this June. Pep Guardiola’s side, meanwhile, are on the verge of completing a deal for River Plate’s Argentina international striker Julián Álvarez.
“I don’t really want to say too much about [my comments about Dortmund], but I felt it was time for me to say something,” Haaland told Sky Sports. “A lot of others were speaking, so that was it. Now, I don’t want to say too much. I said what I said, and now we move on.”
The Leeds-born forward also believes his game is far from complete, and that even his incredible goalscoring record can potentially be improved. “I think I can improve on everything,” he added. “If you say I am good at finishing, I can improve my finishing a lot. I can become faster, so I can improve that. I can become stronger, so I can improve that.
Haaland suffered a muscle injury in the 3-2 victory over Hoffenheim last weekend, and has missed ten fixtures this season with fitness problems. Working on his fitness is Haaland;s priority in the immediate term.
“If I should improve one thing, it would be to not get injured, because if I am not injured I will play a lot more games and I will deliver even better,” he said. “If you were to ask what my goals are for 2022, it is to not be injured, and the goals for the rest of my career are not be injured. That’s the main thing.”
Dortmund are currently second in the Bundesliga table, eight points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen but six behind leaders Bayern Munich, who have won the title every year since 2013.
