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Barcelona duo Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho could be running out of time at the Camp Nou if Joan Laporta is elected as the new club’s president.
Laporta is bidding for a second spell as the club’s president and is busy making plans should he take office. One such plan would see Griezmann and Coutinho sold to make way for Borussia Dortmund starlet Erling Braut Haaland, according to Deportes Cuatro.
The presidential candidate counts Mino Raiola, Haaland’s agent, as a friend and thinks the prolific 20-year-old has a huge future ahead of him. Haaland would cost around €75 million and Laporta thinks he can fund the transfer by offloading Coutinho and Griezmann.
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Barca’s Big-Money Flops?
Both Coutinho and Griezmann arrived at the Camp Nou for huge sums and have struggled to justify their price tags. Barca splashed out on Coutinho in a deal reportedly worth $170 million in January 2018.
Yet the Brazilian struggled in his first spell at the Camp Nou and was shipped out on loan to Bayern Munich last season. Coutinho helped the Bavarian giants win the treble and subsequently returned to Barca.
The 28-year-old has three goals and two assists for Barca so far in 2020-21 but still looks a long way short of the player who lit up the Premier League during his time with Liverpool.
Griezmann is another player who has found it tough going at the Camp Nou. The Frenchman has been a regular ever since he swapped Atletico Madrid for the Catalan giants but has struggled to find a natural place in the team.
Indeed the World Cup winner has shown only flashes of the form that made Barca spend €120 million ($135m) in summer 2019 to activate his Atletico release clause and bring him to the Camp Nou.
Haaland in Demand
Meanwhile, it’s easy to see why Laporta would want to bring Haaland to Barca. The young striker shot to prominence with Red Bull Salzburg which earned him a move to Dortmund in December 2019.
The Norwegian has gone on to thrive with the Bundesliga side. He netted 16 goals in 18 appearances for his new club in the second half of 2019-20 after arriving midway through the campaign.
The striker’s exploits saw him win the 2020 Golden Boy Award, given to the most outstanding Under-21 player in Europe’s top five leagues
🤩 Golden Boy 2020: Erling Haaland!
Haaland has picked up where he left off in 2020-21, netting 17 times already this season in all competitions in just 14 outings for Dortmund. Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Liverpool have all been credited with an interest in the youngster, as reported by AS.
There’s no doubt that Haaland is one of the hottest properties in European football currently and a player who seems to virtually guarantee goals. It’s also little surprise to see Barcelona become the latest club to be linked with a move.
Of course, Laporta must first of all be successful in the elections before he can start to make changes at Barcelona. The 58-year-old is up against a host of other candidates including Victor Font, Jordi Farre, Toni Freixa, and Emili Rousaud, with elections scheduled for January 24.
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Time Running Out for Coutinho & Griezmann at Barcelona?