Erling Haaland – the new sweetheart of Europe: FC Barcelona’s last few seasons in both LaLiga and UEFA Champions League have not been as per their standards. This season, the team crashed out of their UCL group and are now competing in the UEFA Europa League. Under their new manager Xavi, the team has now gained some momentum and the board’s backing had a lot to do with it.
Since Xavi’s appointment, he has already made a few big-name signings and the arrivals of Ferran Torres, Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have seen the club regain their form. Still, the club needs one marquee name in their team list, especially since the departure of Lionel Messi.
Erling Haaland To Barca – A Possibility?
If the reports are to be believed, the Barcelona board has a lot of interest in signing the Norway international and Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland. The 21-year old striker is one of Europe’s hot properties at the moment but is rumoured to leave Germany after the end of this season. He has a release clause of €75m in his contract the giants from Spain along with Manchester City are interested in him. Real Madrid is also reportedly inquiring about the player’s availability and choices as they may look to form a frontline of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, if possible.
So, the situation around this transfer is quite complicated as of now. Manchester City wants a number 9 to lead their line and Pep Guardiola is rumoured to be a big fan of the striker. That’s why if FC Barcelona wants to sign him, they must go all-in for him and that is where the club president Juan Laporta is finding it difficult to come to a conclusion. The financial condition of the club is not as stable as it used to be, so going all in for one player would be a huge risk to take, keeping in mind that the team needs reinforcements in so many other positions on the pitch.” These operations are difficult, and should be done within the best economic situation”, Laporta said while indicating the complexity of the transfer.
In recent news, FC Barcelona is also looking into Robert Lewandowski’s situation at FC Bayern Munich as the striker is believed to be unhappy as his demands are not met by his current club. This is something Barca can capitalise on under the guidance of Laporta. The big two of Spanish football always play a game of power balance in between them and with the arrival of Mbappe at the capital looking more and more likely each passing day, it will be interesting to see whether or not Barca gets to sign their desired marquee this summer.
