"I'm going to sign Haaland next summer" - Joan Laporta informs Barcelona colleagues behind closed doors: Reports
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has reportedly informed his colleagues of his desire to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland next summer.
The Norwegian's contract has a €75 million release clause which will come into effect this summer and Laporta is keen to take full advantage of it. Haaland is currently considered one of the best strikers in the world and at only 21 years old, will be able to lead Barcelona for years to come.
According to Marca, Laporta is adamant that Barcelona will be able to afford Haaland in the summer, despite the club's well-documented financial difficulties over the past year.
He reportedly stated:
"I'm going to sign Haaland next summer"
Laporta plans to make the Norwegian the club's talisman and build the rest of the team around the 21-year old.
Barcelona have already secured the signing of Spanish forward Ferran Torres from Manchester City in a deal worth €55 million. The Blaugrana are still in a rebuilding phase following the departure of Lionel Messi last summer and want to make Haaland the star of the new project.
Marca also believes that Laporta could be going after Haaland for the marketing potential of the striker. Barcelona are desperate for revenue and the signing of such a high profile superstar will help the club rake in money from making him the face of their advertising campaigns and brand deals in the future.
However, the report also states that Real Madrid will also be pursuing Haaland in the summer to potentially link him up with Kylian Mbappe. Barcelona will be desperate not to allow this to happen as it would greatly strengthen their fiercest rivals.
Barcelona will need to trim down their squad in order to sign Haaland
No matter how much Laporta tries to convince the public that Barcelona can afford to sign Haaland this summer, it's no secret that the Blaugrana are in massive amounts of debt. This was the main reason why the club could not afford to re-sign Lionel Messi last summer and had to let the Argentinian superstar leave as a free agent.
#FCBBarcelona president Joan Laporta again on Haaland and big signings for next months: “Everybody in the world should get ready, as we are back as big players in the market. Barça are back”. 🔴 #FCB
If Barcelona are to sign Haaland in the summer, they will have to part ways with multiple players. Stars such as Philippe Coutinho, Antoine Griezmann and Miralem Pjanic, who have no future at the club, should fetch the Catalan giants a decent price in the summer.
However, the Blaugrana will still need to get rid of deadwood such as Samuel Umtiti, Martin Braithwaite and Luuk de Jong so as to clear up enough salary to bring in a star of Haaland's caliber.