Erling Haaland dreaming of Barcelona transfer in bombshell blow to Premier League elite

TRANSFER EXCLUSIVE: Behind Erling Haaland's silence on where he intends to move this summer is a deep desire to head to Barcelona despite strong interest from Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea

Posted Sunday, January 30, 2022 by Dailystar.co.uk

Erling Haaland is delaying a decision on his future to buy Barcelona time to raise the £300million required to sign him.

Sources close to Haaland’s current club Borussia Dortmund are convinced his preferred destination is the Nou Camp - despite his refusal to confirm that bombshell to the rest of Europe’s elite.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are all poised to launch bids for Haaland, whose £68m buy-out clause kicks in at the end of the season.

But they are being made to wait as he wants to see if Barcelona, crippled by debts of £670m, can somehow afford him.

The total cost of acquiring the prolific marksman is an eye-watering £300m - in transfer, salary and agent fees combined.

Erling Haaland is expected to leave Borussia Dortmund in the summer

That was way beyond Barcelona’s reach...until one of the world's biggest banks, Goldman Sachs suddenly arrived on the scene with an offer to bail them out to the tune of a ONE BILLIION pound loan.

And, according to long-time La Liga expert Terry Gibson, that means the fallen Spanish giants are definitely contenders in the Haaland equation.

The former Man United striker said: “They’ll be in there, 100 per cent! Absolutely.

“I was amazed they were able to get the money to buy Ferran Torres from Man City this month.

“They will find the money. They always find ways of raising the revenue. They’ve just done a massive new shirt sponsorship deal, which will be the world’s highest. They’ve still got the pull.

“And the deal with Goldman Sachs, who are also paying for the new stadium, means repayments on debts are now long-term.

“Barcelona will be back – much sooner than anyone imagined.”

Most assumed Real Madrid to be the obvious choice in Spain for Haaland, who has scored 56 goals in 57 league appearances at Dortmund.

However, the Norwegian sensation, represented by super-agent Mino Raiola, fears being overshadowed by PSG striker Kylian Mbappe’s anticipated summer arrival at the Bernabeu.

Of course, one advantage Real and the Premier League big-hitters hold over Barcelona is the guarantee of Champions League football next season.

Yet Gibson feels Haaland, 21, may be willing to sacrifice a year in that arena for the prestige of spearheading Xavi’s Barcelona revolution.

The La Liga TV pundit went on: “Haaland is young enough to take on that challenge.

“If he reproduces the goals he’s scored in Germany, he will be the absolute king in Barcelona.

“He’s the one player, the one sort of figure they’ve missed since Lionel Messi left – a world-class forward to lead from the front.”

Should Haaland go to Spain, it will represent another triumph for La Liga over their loaded Premier League counterparts.

A sign of changing times, explained Gibson. He said: “English clubs can’t just buy whoever they want in Spain anymore - not even from smaller La Liga clubs.

“The way the television money is shared means La Liga is now more like the Premier League model.

“Clubs can afford to say no. They don’t need to sell.”