Real Madrid board member Jose Manuel Ortero has said that Kylian Mbappe "is better suited" to the team's style of football than Erling Haaland.
Los Blancos are widely expected to sign Mbappe on a free transfer at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, with the France international able to end his Paris Saint-Germain contract next summer.
Ortero has talked-up a move to Bernabeu for the World Cup winner, but Haaland is also thought to be a long-term target for the Spanish giants.
The Norway international has scored a remarkable 60 goals in 65 appearances for Manchester City since making the move to the Premier League outfit from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022.
Haaland has another four years left to run on his contract, but there have recently been suggestions that the Citizens will soon open talks over an extension.
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The 23-year-old has scored eight goals and registered two assists in 12 appearances at club level this season, but he has only netted once in his last four outings for the treble winners.
Haaland has found it difficult to make his mark in Man City's last two Premier League matches, which have ended in defeats to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal.
The Norwegian is believed to be determined to play in Spain at some stage of his career, but Ortero has said that Mbappe is "better suited than Haaland" to Real Madrid.
"For Real Madrid's game, Mbappe is better suited than Haaland. Haaland demands that the entire team play for him so that he can score," Ortero told Blanca Remontada.
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"That, in closed teams, sometimes scores a goal. Madrid has to open the defences with tremendously skilled players."
Real Madrid did not sign a direct replacement for the outgoing Karim Benzema over the summer, although Joselu was brought in on loan from Espanyol.
There has been a change of formation by Los Blancos head coach Carlo Ancelotti this season, Jude Bellingham playing behind a front two, with Rodrygo, Joselu and Vinicius Junior featuring in the forward areas.
Real Madrid's plans in terms of a set-up under Mbappe are unclear, while Ancelotti only has a contract until the end of the campaign, and the Italian is widely expected to leave.
Los Blancos have made an excellent start to this season, sitting top of their Champions League section with six points from an available six, while they are also at the head of the La Liga table.