Chelsea still pushing for Alaba; Haaland’s release clause not an actual clause — reports

David Alaba has confirmed his intentions to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season, and while on principle that should be good news for Chelsea, Real Madrid’s informal pre-contract with the defender makes it extremely unlikely, if not impossible to bring the 28-year-old to Stamford Bridge.

ESPN have lent their own version on the state of things, claiming that while Real do indeed have a verbal agreement with Alaba and his agent, Pini Zahavi, the presence of at least seven more clubs in the race means that the move hasn’t been formalized, and Alaba could yet move to another club.

Alaba may prefer Real, but is apparently hoping to reach similar agreements with the other clubs so that he has more options (and wage packets) to choose from. Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid are all said to be chasing his signature, while Chelsea and Liverpool pushing the hardest to change Alaba’s mind.

Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Chelsea are also in pursuit of another difficult target, in Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Braut Haaland. The 20-year-old has been widely reported to have a €75m release clause that activates in 2022, however, according to BILD (via Inside Futbol and Daily Mail), the actual figure is actually closer to €100m, and contrary to popular belief, it’s not even an actual clause but just an informal agreement between the club and the player.

Not that it really matters, if we want to sign him in the upcoming transfer window and if there’s a bidding war brewing for his signature anyway. While BVB would love to hold on to him for a bit longer — while offloading Jadon Sancho instead — the club’s financial situation as well as Haaland’s apparent desire to play Champions League football could force an exit this summer.