Real Madrid will not look to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, according to Eurosport. They claim that despite reports that the La Liga champions held talks with the player’s representatives last week, they were simply “feigning interest” in order to push up his price.

Barcelona are known to be also involved in the race for the forward, and it is believed two Real directors, Jose Angel Sanchez and Juni Calafat, met with Haaland’s entourage simply to make it harder for their fierce rivals.

The presence of Mino Raiola in negotiations is said to be a key reason why they will not consider bidding for Haaland. The agent’s high commission fee and previous failed bids for two of his clients, Paul Pogba and Gianluigi Donnarumma, have left them reluctant to do business with the Dutchman.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed there were five teams interested in Haaland, which were believed to include Real, Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea but this has likely been reduced to four now, unless another team like Paris Saint-Germain also get involved.