Super agent Mino Raiola has landed in Barcelona for talks with the Spanish side about a move for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta is keen to build the team around Haaland and has explored ways to raise money to pursue the 20-year-old, who is expected to pay a fee of well over £ 100 million.
#FCB ?? #ExclusivaSPORT?
? The bomb of me and we are on day 1!
? Mino Raiola and the father of Haaland, in Barcelona pic.twitter.com/mUmb7MX4wc
– Diario SPORT (@sport) April 1, 2021
Things escalated on Thursday when Sport discovered Raiola and Haaland’s father, former Manchester City midfielder Alf-Inge, landed in Barcelona, where they met a car sent by Laporta and quickly went out for a meeting with the president, which was confirmed by Fabrizio Romano.
Raiola and Laporta are known for having a good relationship, which has given the Barcelona president confidence that he will be able to win the race for Haaland’s signature, even though Barcelona are expected to face some tough competition.
Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea are all interested in Haaland, while Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are both keeping an eye on things.
Barcelona are keen on Haaland | Quality Sport Images / Getty Images
On the surface there is a little head scraper. Barcelona face debts of close to £ 1bn, and that’s not exactly the best way to get your finances in order to defer another £ 150m on a player whose salary is likely to reach £ 300,000 a week.
Despite all this, Laporta is understood to be convinced that he can find the money somewhere, with a handful of extra loans expected to add money raised from selling players when the transfer window opens.
Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho are two of the biggest names likely to walk through the front door, while wingers such as Martin Braithwaite and Francisco Trincao also face uncertain future prospects.
Laporta thinks he can find the money somewhere Quality Sport Images / Getty Images
Signing Haaland is part of Laporta’s plan to persuade Lionel Messi to stay at the club. AS notes that Messi’s decision is likely to rest on whether Barcelona can offer him a real shot at winning the Champions League in the near future, and signing Haaland would go a long way to help it.
The president is aware that Messi will receive more lucrative offers from such as Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, but the hope is that the 33-year-old will not be affected by money and instead be impressed by Barcelona’s intention.
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