Haaland Agreed FC Barcelona Transfer In 2022, Reports Mundo Deportivo
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland agreed to join FC Barcelona in 2022 according to Mundo Deportivo, which cited anonymous sources.
Around that time, Haaland was the hottest available property in football considering his relatively low $65 million (€60 million) release clause set by his club, Borussia Dortmund.
The Germans were resigned to the fact that their most valuable commodity would probably move on ahead of the next season, with Haaland enjoying no end of suitors after lighting up the Bundesliga and Champions League.
In April 2021, Haaland, his father Alf-Inge, and now-deceased agent Mino Raiola touched down in Barcelona on a private jet to learn about the sporting project at the Catalan club.
That summer saw Lionel Messi move to Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer and Haaland stay at least another year in Dortmund.
Yet according to Mundo Deportivo, Haaland’s camp gave Barca their ‘yes’ in March 2022, which is when head coach Xavi Hernandez went to Munich to personally explain his plans for the 23-year-old and how the Blaugrana first team would be built around him.
As things turned out, though, a cash-strapped Barca couldn’t afford to make the numbers work and lost out on Haaland to moneyed Manchester City.
The youngster smashed a number of records in his first season at the Etihad, as the Mancunians won an impressive treble including a maiden Champions League crown.
Yet with Haaland’s contract said to contain a special release clause that can be triggered below $108 million by clubs outside England according to AS, he is now being linked with a switch to La Liga.
AS reported this week that Haaland is still interested in moving to Madrid, and there have been more than enough rumours circling about that topic.
On Tuesday, however, Mundo Deportivo separately reports that Haaland is Barca’s “dream” signing for 2025 as a perfect long-term successor to Robert Lewandowski.
With Kylian Mbappe most likely landing at the Bernabeu prior to 2024/2025, we could possibly enjoy a Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo-esque Clash of the Titans in El Clasico for years to come as we did from the late 2000s until the Portuguese departed for Juventus in 2018.
Barca would have to raise the funds to pull off the coup of course, but there are realistic chances of making that happen with player sales across the next three transfer windows.
