Getty Erling Haaland celebrates scoring for Dortmund.
Barcelona continue to be linked with a move for Borussia Dortmund goal machine Erling Haaland, despite the club’s ongoing financial problems, and the Norwegian has offered a tantalizing update on his future plans.
Haaland is currently in Marbella, Spain and was asked by supporters where he will play next, as reported by Thomas Roncero at Diario AS. “I will play here, in Spain,” he said with comments that are likely to fuel rumors of a move to either Barcelona or Real Madrid.
The striker’s agent, Mino Raiola, has already hinted that Haaland will move on from Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season. He told Sport1 there is a “big chance” that Haaland will move in summer 2022 and named Barca, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City as possible destinations.
The 21-year-old is contracted to Dortmund until 2024 but has a release clause that allows him to leave in summer 2022 for just €75 million, as reported by Marca.
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Laporta Obsessed With Signing Haaland
Barcelona president Joan Laporta is “obsessed” with the idea of bringing Haaland to the Camp Nou and also wants to ensure the Norway international does not head to rivals Real Madrid, as reported by Marca.
The club chief “is doing everything he can to prevent” Haaland signing for Los Blancos and has already met with Raiola to discuss the possibility of landing the 21-year-old in the summer.
Real Madrid are expected to bring in Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer at the end of the season, and Laporta is desperate to avoid seeing a frontline of Mbappe, Haaland and Vinicius Junior at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid “Can Sign Haaland & Mbappe”
Laporta’s fears may be justified as Real Madrid believe they can sign both Haaland and Mbappe, as reported by ESPN. Mbappe would move as a free agent, while Los Blancos also think they can take advantage of Barca’s financial problems and do a deal for Haaland too.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has already claimed Los Blancos have the finances available to land both players, as reported by Football Espana.
“They have sold over €200m in players. They have money in the bank to sign Mbappe and Haaland together,” he said. “They have not lost money and on top of that, they have sold assets. What is not understandable is that a club who loses €400m, has €500m in salary excess, and can reject offers like the one for Mbappe. It is failure in the control rules of France, which has now hurt the European market.”
There’s no doubt that Haaland and Mbappe are already two of the most sought-after players in world football due to their goalscoring exploits for Dortmund and PSG. It would be no great surprise to see the duo plying their trade in Spain’s top flight next season but it’s not clear if they will be teammates or rivals.
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