Erling Haaland would have made his choice. Courted by many clubs in Europe, the Norwegian striker has opted for Spain and FC Barcelona to continue his career. But the Catalan club has yet to raise the funds to secure its services.
For several weeks, Real Madrid and Barça have been engaged in a battle from a distance to secure the signing of the Borussia Dortmund player. Seduced by the idea of evolving on the other side of the Pyrenees, Haaland (21) would have given his preference to the Catalan club, according to information from Deportes Cuatro. The goalscorer would like to be the leader of a project. And it is for this reason that he does not prefer to take the direction of Real Madrid, where Kylian Mbappé, at the end of his contract with PSG, is expected at the end of the season. He is not only expected to share the limelight with the French striker, but also with Karim Benzema and Vinicius.
Very involved in this file, President Joan Laporta has even already concluded a deal with his agent Mino Raiola. Haaland would sign a three-year contract, with two optional years, and receive a gross annual salary of nearly € 30 million. If he refused to mention the Norwegian in public, Laporta would be very confident in private. “I will be signing Haaland this summer,” he is said to have said privately.
But everything is not yet settled concerning his coming. As Barcelona have faced significant financial problems, Laporta must raise the sum of € 100million which will be used to pay the compensation for his transfer to Borussia Dortmund, as well as the commission paid to Mino Raiola. Barça will therefore have to relinquish several players to collect this sum and reduce its payroll. Samuel Umtiti, Philippe Coutinho, Memphis Depay or even Frenkie De Jong are part of a long list of players likely to be pushed towards the exit.
If Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé were to sign for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, the Clasicos between the two clubs are likely to be breathless and exciting to say the least. As in a time not so long ago when there was Lionel Messi on one side and Cristiano Ronaldo on the other.