Haaland should join Bayern Munich or leave the Bundesliga, says Matthaus

Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland should join Bayern Munich or leave the Bundesliga to further his career, Lothar Matthaus says.

The Norway striker scored twice in the 4-0 win over Schalke last weekend to take his tally to 27 in all competitions this season, behind only Robert Lewandowski (31) among Bundesliga players.

Haaland also hit two in the 3-2 win at Sevilla in the Champions League last-16 first leg to become the first player in the competition's history to score as many as 17 goals in his first 13 appearances.

The 20-year-old only joined Dortmund last January but is already being linked with a post-season move to one of Europe's major clubs.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have all been credited with an interest in Haaland, who is speculated to have a release clause of €75million that becomes active in 2022.

Bayern great Matthaus thinks Haaland ultimately has two choices at this stage of his career: pursue a move away from the Bundesliga, or sign for the champions.

17 - @BlackYellow ‘s Erling Haaland is the first player in @ChampionsLeague history to score as many as 17 goals in his first 13 appearances. Lethal. #SEVBVB #UCL pic.twitter.com/QpAGqkvcng

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) February 17, 2021

"At a young age, he's a striker unlike any I've seen before: this goal tally, this power, passion, energy, as well as quality," he told Sport1.

"He could follow in the footsteps of other great footballers of the last 13 or 14 years.

"He won't be at Borussia Dortmund for life. He'll look for bigger clubs; he'll get a bigger wage. If he stays in the Bundesliga, there's only one step for him: Bayern."

Bayern have endured a dip in form of late, drawing with Arminia Bielefeld before a 2-1 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Those results have allowed RB Leipzig to close to within two points of the leaders, and Matthaus thinks the challengers have an advantage in the title race due to squad depth.

Claiming a ninth title in a row for Bayern is "not a cast-iron guarantee", Matthaus wrote in his column for Sky.

He added: "It's already the case that [Bayern coach] Hansi Flick turns to the substitutes bench at critical moments and thinks, 'Who exactly can really help me now?'.

"If the situation worsens in terms of personnel, the season could end far less successfully."