Barcelona have ALREADY held Haaland transfer talks

Robin Bairner

27 Mar 2024 08:39 GMT
4 min read

Rafaela Pimenta, Erling Haaland, Barcelona, 2023/24 — © IMAGO

Barcelona have held transfer talks with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland as they seek to respond to Real Madrid’s move for Kylian Mbappe.

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While Mbappe is expected to arrive at the Bernabeu this summer when his contract at PSG expires, Barca are playing the long game with Haaland and are seeking to add him to their ranks in 2025.

The arrival of Haaland is designed to coincide with the departure of Robert Lewandowski, according to Mundo Deportivo, which reports that the Blaugrana remain ambitious in the transfer market, despite their current financial problems.

Most remarkably, Barcelona have already started putting their pieces into position to sign the Norway international, the Catalan source reports.

“Barcelona’s door has always remained open for Haaland and last month there was a new approach, with the visit of his current agent Rafaela Pimenta to Barcelona, where she met sporting director Deco,” it reports.

“Barca’s roadmap for the Norwegian is clear: try to sign him in the summer of 2025 once Robert Lewandowski has finished his guaranteed contract (the 2025/26 season is optional), with the Spotify Camp Nou already generating enough resources so that Haaland can become a Barcelona player and one of the great attractions of the new stadium.”

This claim comes just days after president Joan Laporta seemed to distance Barcelona for a deal from Haaland.

READ MORE: Latest Barcelona transfer rumours

© IMAGO - Erling Haaland in action against Liverpool

Haaland does not rule out a move

For his part, Haaland has been evasive over his future, refusing to guarantee a long-term stay at Man City.

Earlier this month, for example, he admitted: “I say this now, it will probably be a massive headline, tomorrow you never know what the future brings but I am happy. You can write this but you also have to write everything I said before. I am happy.”

Haaland’s father, Alf-Inge spoke about his son’s future in a documentary last summer, saying: "I think Erling wants to prove his abilities in all leagues. Then he can stay there [Manchester City] for three or four years at the most.

“He could be, for example, two-and-a-half years in Germany, two-and-a-half years in England and then in Spain, Italy, France, right?"

Pimenta has also hinted in the recent past that Haaland could be open to another challenge, but the question remains whether Barcelona will be in a financial position to make a deal happen.