How Real Madrid Could Line Up With Erling Haaland or Michael Olise

Voting is almost upon us and both candidates in the race to become Real Madrid’s next president have laid out their grand plans.

The challenger Enrique Riquelme kicked things off with a midweek appearance on Spanish prime-time talk show El Hormiguero, during which he revealed he would sign both Rodri and Erling Haaland if he were to be elected—even guaranteeing to refund members’ fees personally if he fails to deliver on his promise.

Meanwhile, the incumbent Florentino Pérez—who has already revealed plans to reinstate José Mourinho as manager and sign defenders Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries—hit back with his own promise to make a record-breaking bid of €150 million ($175 million) for a new “Galáctico.”

Pérez, who was speaking on TV show Horizonte, teased the player was a midfielder or forward and not in the Premier League. While he also directly denied the player was Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, several reports have suggested that the London-born France international is, in fact, the mystery man in Pérez’s crosshairs.

Haaland vs. Olise. Both are potentially earth-shattering signings for Real Madrid, but how could Los Blancos actually line up with either player?

How Real Madrid Could Line Up With Erling Haaland

(4-2-3-1): Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rüdiger, Huijsen, Carreras; Rodri, Tchouaméni; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Mbappé; Haaland.
(4-4-2): Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rüdiger, Huijsen, Carreras; Valverde, Rodri, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr; Haaland, Mbappé.

There’s not really a lot of tactical flexibility with Haaland—you know what you’re getting with the 6'5" Norwegian goal machine.

The City striker plays as the ideal embodiment of the modern striker; both a target man and poacher, deadly in the air and with his feet, as strong as he is quick.

Without sacrificing Mbappé, the only way to accommodate both players would be to move the Frenchman out to the left—where he often plays for France, with Haaland occupying the middle in either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation. It is hard to find a place for Vinicius Junior in this scenario, however.

In games against weaker opposition, Madrid might attempt to play something more akin to a 4-4-2, with Mbappé alongside Haaland up top and Vinicius Jr out on the left, but this feels more appropriate for video games than reality.

The other option, of course, would be to get rid of Mbappé from the equation—which Riquelme may have been hinting at when he presented a Haaland jersey on national TV with Mbappé’s No. 9 on the back.

In this ‘Riquelme wins’ scenario, the starting lineup could also feature Rodri—the would-be president’s other big promise—who would surely have to do a lot of the heavy lifting defensively in this team.

How Real Madrid Could Line Up With Michael Olise

(4-3-3): Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Rüdiger, Carreras; Valverde, Tchouaméni, Bellingham; Olise, Mbappé, Vinicius Jr.
(4-2-3-1): Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Rüdiger, Carreras; Bellingham, Tchouaméni; Rodrygo, Olise, Vinicius Jr; Mbappé.

One of the world’s most exciting dribblers, Olise would immediately add thrust to Madrid’s right-hand side and—on paper, at least—a trio of Vinicius Jr, Mbappé and Olise reads like pure nightmare fuel for sluggish defenders.

Though he typically operates from the right, 24-year-old Olise has shown his versatility for Bayern Munich, France and previously Crystal Palace, and has the skillset to play more centrally, too.

Madrid would mostly like stick Olise out wide, where he would constitute an upgrade on the injured Rodrygo, but could deploy him behind the striker as the team’s creative fulcrum—though this may depend on what other signings Pérez has up his sleeve.

With Konaté also slated to join, Madrid could have a French core next season, with the two new signings joining Mbappé and Tchouaméni, as well as Eduardo Camavinga and Ferland Mendy.

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