Real Madrid are watching Erling Haaland’s situation at Manchester City from a careful distance. That is the thrust of a Wednesday report in Madrid Universal, which says multiple people inside the club hold the City striker in genuine regard and that Haaland himself is interested in playing in Spain “at some point in his career.” The site attributes the information to Le Journal du Real via Madrid Zone.

Admiration inside the Bernabéu, it stresses, does not mean a deal is being chased. Real Madrid are cast as keeping a watching brief, with the outlet writing that there is “no basis to suggest that this transfer is imminent.”

City call commission verdict ‘unsafe’

What makes any Haaland story worth watching right now is the legal case hanging over City. The Premier League’s independent commission ruled last month that the club had committed serious breaches of its financial rules, and City have launched a long and public fight back.

The club lodged its appeal on 1 October at 7pm local time, calling the commission’s opinion “unsafe” and declaring that it is “innocent of the accusations.” The appeal hearing is expected to conclude within 12 weeks of filing, with the Appeal Board then given up to 30 days to deliver its decision, per Sky Sports. Until that process is settled, speculation about Haaland’s future will be a fixture.

Read also: Cristiano Ronaldo handed potential lifeline as six-month Portugal ban looms

Barcelona still the stated preference

Spain is not a new theme in Haaland reporting. On 6 October, The Hard Tackle, citing Football Insider, wrote that the 26-year-old would prefer Barcelona over Arsenal if he were to leave the Etihad.

The pull of La Liga is said to carry weight after several seasons in England, though Barcelona would still have to clear significant financial hurdles to match his Premier League wages. Arsenal, the outlet notes, have the financial muscle but not the player’s preference.

Real Madrid have sat in the margins of that same conversation. Reporting from late September pointed to the club’s existing attack, with Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo already on the books, as the main reason the club is “unlikely to seriously pursue” a Haaland deal, per footballtransfers.com.

Haaland’s contract runs until 2034

Any club serious about testing City will meet a hard ceiling. Haaland signed a long extension in 2025 that leaves him with eight more years on his deal, and his transfer value is estimated at between €119.5m and €199.2m, according to the same outlet, which puts his City record at 169 goals in 205 matches.

Read also: Champions League final pitch invader’s life takes remarkable turn seven years later

City’s appeal hearing is due within 12 weeks of the 1 October filing, placing any decision window in late December 2026 or into 2027.

Read also: He scored three goals for Liverpool in 30 minutes, but his story ended in tragedy