Manchester City face Real Madrid in the Champions League again this week, and heading into the game Thibaut Courtois has made a claim about one of City’s star players.
Courtois has been discussing Real Madrid’s rich history of fantastic strikers.
Cristiano Ronaldo was, of course, the main man in Madrid for a long time, but, upon his departure, Karim Benzema took up the mantle and won the Ballon d’Or.
Courtois says that Benzema was always in a great position to step up once Ronaldo left due to the number of chances Madrid create.
In the same breath, Courtois claimed that Erling Haaland is another player who would score tons of goals in that Madrid team.
Haaland was criticised after his first-leg performance against Madrid last week, despite scoring twice, and Courtois believes the Norwegian would be absolutely brilliant for Los Blancos.
Erling Haaland would be amazing for Real Madrid
Courtois spoke on Rio Ferdinand’s podcast about Madrid’s strikers and Haaland.
The goalkeeper says that the £51m man is a brilliant striker inside the box, and that he would thrive with the quality of chances that Madrid create.
“Did you expect that from him (Karim Benzema)? Because obviously, Cristiano was there before. And he was almost like, Cristiano was the superstar, and he was like the next guy to him supporting,” Courtois was asked.
“Did you expect him to go and do what he did the next year?”
“Yeah, because eventually, Cristiano scored a lot of goals. But when he left, someone else will get it. And if you’re in the right spot, I think also like a striker like Haaland and our team would score a lot of goals, because we are very offensive,” Courtois said.
And just an example, because I think Haaland is also this kind of striker that lives from inside the box. And I think we have enough quality to reach there. And if you’re inside the box, I think we have a lot of crosses in the game.”
Courtois knows first-hand just how good Haaland can be, playing against the striker on three occasions.
| Games | Goals | Assists | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erling Haaland record vs Thibaut Courtois | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Of course, Kylian Mbappe is currently Madrid’s striker, and Thierry Henry says he’d rather have Mbappe than Haaland.
Erling Haaland record vs Spanish clubs
Courtois says that Haaland would be amazing for Real Madrid, and he’s not wrong.
Haaland is one of the best goalscorers in the world, and joining one of the most dominant teams on the planet in a weaker league would allow Haaland to score even more.
Indeed, when Madrid are flowing, they score for fun. They once scored over 100 league goals in nine consecutive seasons when Cristiano Ronaldo was leading the line, Meanwhile, as good as Man City have been, they’ve only managed to do that three times in the Premier League.
Goals are easier to come by in La Liga, and Haaland’s does have a remarkable record against Spanish opposition.
| Games | Goals | Assists | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erling Haaland record vs Spanish clubs | 9 | 8 | 2 |
Haaland is averaging more than a goal contribution per game against Spanish opposition, so it’s easy to imagine how effective he’d be in La Liga.
Unfortunately for Madrid, they won’t be getting hold of Haaland anytime soon.
The striker recently signed a new nine-year contract with Manchester City, and he’s guaranteed to stay in Manchester for a long while yet.
