Manchester City star Erling Haaland's camp believes that the striker playing for a bigger club such as Real Madrid could hold the key to winning individual gongs such as FIFA's The Best award and the Ballon d'Or, according to AS.
The Norwegian recently lost out on both accolades to Lionel Messi.
There was no surprise that the Ballon d'Or wasn't forthcoming because of Messi going all the way with Argentina and lifting the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Yet as the last edition of The Best took in the whole 2023 calendar year, many were shocked that Haaland came in second after sealing the treble with City and smashing the Premier League's highest scorer record while also being the top scorer in the Champions League by some distance.
Messi had a pretty normal year with PSG and Inter Miami by winning Ligue 1 and the Leagues Cup. And while both men notched 35 points in The Best's vote, that more captains gave Messi the nod meant he went home with the top prize.
Outside the Apollo Theatre in London, Haaland's father Alfe-Inge, who also teased a possible move to Real Madrid, said: "That's just the way it is," when asked about the outcome.
Yet according to AS, the 23-year-old's entourage believes that Haaland needs to switch to "a club like Madrid" to gain more prominence and "ensure that global recognition goes hand in hand with individual performance".
As has previously been reported by the same newspaper, Haaland is a realistic Plan B for Los Blancos if Kylian Mbappe doesn't join them this summer.
The Frenchman becomes a free agent on June 30 at Paris Saint-Germain, and has already accepted an offer to become the latest Galactico at the Bernabeu according to Footmercato.
If the move doesn't come to fruition for a third time since similar disappointments in 2017 and 2022, Haaland can be bought for a relative snip of $108 million (€100 million) thanks to a reported release cause in his contract that may be capitalized on by clubs outside the Premier League.
By switching to Spain, Haaland would not only play for arguably the world's biggest club but also put himself in line for recognition at the top awards ceremonies as seen on a frequent basis by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema this Century.