Real Madrid impose Erling Haaland ban

Stuart Telford

• 29 Dec 2023 18:57 GMT
• 3 min read

Real Madrid fans were banned from ordering club jerseys with "Haaland" or "Mbappe" on the back this Christmas, according to reports in Spain.

Real have been linked with moves for Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe for a number of years.

Manchester City man Haaland reportedly had a release clause in his contract favourable to non-Premier League clubs, inviting speculation that a move to Real was on the horizon, and PSG star Mbappe went as far as agreeing terms before performing a U-turn in May 2022.

It is understood both remain key targets for Real, with the cub thus far replacing the Al-Ittihad-bound Karim Benzema's goals with Jude Bellingham, who has hit a team-high 17 in all competitions despite being a midfielder by trade.

But neither is a done deal yet, and Real stopped fans getting jerseys with their names on this winter - unless the customer genuinely had the surname "Haaland" or "Mbappe".

Haaland jerseys 'not for sale'

"Several fans asked for a Madrid shirt with Mbappe's or Haaland's name, something impossible to get in the official club shop," report Cadena SER. "Two fans told [us] that they weren't for sale because they don't play for Madrid."

The report goes on to outline that individuals who bear the same name can insist upon it, but anyone else could invite image and copyright infringements.

Both players have been in fine form this season. Haaland had 19 goals from 22 games in all competitions before a recent foot injury, while Mbappe has 21 in 22, albeit playing in a league ranked four places below England in the latest UEFA coefficients.

Haaland and Mbappe are two of the three highest valued players per FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm at €144.2m and €133m respectively. The player splitting is the aforementioned already on Real's books: Bellingham at €135m.