The agent of Man City striker Erling Haaland insists that La Liga giants Real Madrid are viewed as a “dreamland” for her clients.
Haaland swapped Borussia Dortmund for Man City in a deal worth around £51m after becoming one of the most sought-after players in world football.
The Norway international has an amazing goalscoring record in his career to date and he has carried it on at Man City, contributing 27 goals and four assists in 24 Premier League appearances this term.
However, there has been some criticism of his overall performances with Jamie Carragher claiming Haaland may have “picked the wrong club” for his style of play.
There have been reports in Spain that Haaland is ‘not happy’ at Man City and the 22-year-old reportedly ‘believes that they need to change their style’ to get him more involved in play.
Links to Real Madrid persist with president Florentino Perez understood to be a big fan of Haaland with the striker’s agent Rafaela Pimento admitting that the Bernabeu is a “dreamland” for most players.
Pimento told the FT Business of Football summit in London (via The Sun): “Erling went to City because there was such a history of his family with the club. You’ve seen the pictures of him as a kid wearing a City shirt so it’s only natural he would want to experience what his father experienced.
“And also of course above that, very much above that, is that he wanted to play for Pep Guardiola. But when we have a player, we make plans. Even if the player is 15-years-old. We are planning out his career trajectory.
“When I started in this business, if I would say to a player ‘I’ll bring you to England’ the first thing they would say would be ‘what did I do wrong? Why don’t you like me?’
“Now, if I ask a player ‘what is your goal?’ he will say the Premier League. He doesn’t say City, Chelsea or Arsenal but the Premier League.
“This is the place to be for an agent because it is the place the players want to be. It’s a fantastic league. It’s competitive. Every game is a challenge. Everybody wants to watch it. They want to be here.
“But there is the Premier League. And there is Real Madrid. And Real Madrid has something of its own that makes it the Dreamland for the players.
“Madrid keeps this magic going. It doesn’t have the league competition but it does have the Champions League.”
On her role as a female agent, Pimento added: “If Margaret Thatcher had been an agent, they would question her. She could run a country but not be a football agent. In football, many men think they are the only ones that know how to do things and believe you use your gender as a way to make you feel insecure.
“They try to demoralise you because you are a woman. I’ve been insulted and called names, told that I know nothing, by club executives, trainers, other agents, players’ friends.
“There’s always someone who will say ‘she’s a woman – what does she know?’ But I’m still here.”
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