The president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta met with agent Mino Raiola in Turin, Italy recently and reports claimed that their discussion was centered around the future of Erling Haaland.
Mino Raiola is the agent of Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and Borussia Dortmund striker, Erling Haaland. The two players are among the long list of football stars that might switch clubs next summer.
Paul Pogba’s contract with Manchester United will expire on June 30, 2022. The Premier League club have been trying to extend Pogba’s stay at the club but the demands of the Frenchman have made the negotiation difficult.
Hence, there is a possibility that he might leave Old Trafford for Juventus, Real Madrid Paris Saint Germain, or FC Barcelona on a free transfer next summer.
As for Erling Haaland, the 21-year-old Norwegian striker still has until June 2024 before his contract with Borussia Dortmund expires. But there is a clause in his contract that permits him to join any club of his choice that can pay for the €75million release clause inserted in the contract.
Recently, superagent Mino Raiola said in an interview that there was a possibility that Erling Haaland could leave Borussia Dortmund this coming summer. The agent mentioned clubs like Manchester City, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, or Bayern Munich as the player’s potential new home.
Since the agent made the statement, none of the clubs have made any official move towards securing the signature of Haaland until Laporta met with the agent in Italy.
Reports claimed that the FC Barcelona president traveled to Italy to attend the Golden Boy and Golden Woman awards presentations.
Before he went to watch Pedri receive the 2021 Golden Boy Award, Laporta drove straight from the airport to meet with superagent Mino Raiola.
At the time of publishing this report, there was no official report from the meeting which means that the fight for Erling Haaland’s signature is still open.
FC Barcelona coach Xavi comments on the club’s interest in Erling Haaland
The new coach of FC Barcelona, Xavi, has said the possibility that Barca would sign Erling Haaland is still speculative.
While acknowledging that his team needs new signings, the coach who used to be a player of the club said Barca would operate based on the peculiarities of the coming transfer window.
“Everything said now is hypothetical,” Xavi said. “Barcelona has to be aware of the market and we indeed need reinforcements, but we’ll see what happens.”
Notwithstanding, it would be interesting to see Erling Haaland sign for FC Barcelona next summer now that the club is struggling to win games. The club is currently out of this season’s UEFA Champions League campaign and are not looking like they might qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League campaign.
One of the reasons why Haaland wants to leave Dortmund is his quest to win major titles. He would not want to leave a club that hardly wins titles to a club that is currently struggling.
Hence, the Norway international who has scored 17 goals and provided 15 assists in 14 games in all competitions for Dortmund so far this season, might prefer to join a more stable club next summer.
