Erling Haaland admits Borussia Dortmund are ‘pressuring’ him to make a decision over his future

Erling Haaland has put Premier League clubs on alert after revealing Borussia Dortmund are pushing him to make a decision over his future.

The Norwegian, who has long been a target for both Manchester clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, admitted ‘things will start to happen now’ as Dortmund have made clear to him he has to decide his future.

‘[For] The last six months I have chosen not to say anything out of respect for Borussia Dortmund, but now the club has started pressing me into making a decision,’ the 21-year-old told Norwegian broadcaster Viasat on Friday, after scoring twice in Dortmund’s 5-1 thrashing of Freiburg.

‘All I want to do is to play football, but they [Dortmund] press me to make a decision now about my future […] So that means I have to make a decision soon.’

Haaland has scored an astonishing 78 goals in 77 games in all competitions for Dortmund since moving to the Bundesliga in January from RB Salzburg in 2020.

His goalscoring return has made him one of European football’s hottest properties, with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and City all linked with the Dortmund striker in the past 18 months.

Borussia Dortmund are putting Haaland under pressure to make a decision about his future

Haaland scored twice as Dortmund trounced Freiburg 5-1 on Friday night

Haaland has so far remained tight-lipped on his future but on Friday acknowledged that could soon change, as Dortmund want him to make his plans clear.

‘They have started to put a lot of pressure on me and I have to accept that,’ he said.

‘I have chosen not to say anything out of respect for the club and the fans.

‘But now that a lot of pressure is coming from the club, so it is the time to get things started. It means things will happen now.’

Haaland said he had not spoken about his future out of respect for Dortmund 

But hinted that was about to change as the club want him to make a decision quickly

‘I have said from the beginning I want to focus on football, because that’s when I am at my best. Not when other things come into my mind. 

Asked when he expected to come to a decision, the Norwegian replied: ‘Not now because we’re in the middle of a difficult period with a lot of games. All I want to do is to play football, but I can’t do that now. ‘

Haaland has the option to leave Dortmund in the summer when his £64million release clause becomes active, and the club’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke admitted last weekend that it will be difficult for the Bundesliga giants to hold onto him.

Watzke said in an interview with Der Spiegel, as per Marca: ‘Who would give one of the best strikers in Europe away in the winter market if they didn’t have to? 

Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke admitted Dortmund may lose their talisman this summer

‘He will not leave in January. Dortmund is still in three competitions and we want to compete with the best teams.

‘Of course it’ll be difficult to retain him. However, we want to and we’ll try. Haaland will not leave in January, but in summer it will be difficult to keep him.’

Watzke, however, was adamant Haaland’s statement did not change anything.

‘He is a spontaneous person,’ he told Ruhr Nachrichten.

‘He’s allowed to do that. There is no problem with Erling. But he must also have some understanding for our situation. We can’t wait until the end of May.’

Reports in Germany have suggest that Real Madrid are the preferred destination for Haaland, who would like to follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo. 

However, earlier this month El Nacional reported Haaland was at the top of Barca’s transfer targets. 

‘Everybody in the world should get ready, as we are back as big players in the market. Barca are back,’ the Catalans president Joan Laporta said.