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Laporta talks about future Barcelona interest in Haaland & possible €80m transfer raid on Man City for Bernardo Silva.
Joan Laporta has spoken out on whether Erling Haaland could emerge as a transfer target again for Barcelona at some point in the future.
As top clubs from across Europe competed to sign a coveted player, Camp Nou had been mentioned as one potential destination for the prolific Norwegian striker when he planned to depart ways with Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
Premier League champions Manchester City eventually prevailed in that competition after agreeing to a $51 million ($61 million) deal, and Haaland has scored 27 goals in 21 games for them.
However, there have been admissions that the 22-year-old may not stay in England for very long and that a new challenge in another country may be sought at some point.
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Barcelona would be expected to come back into the mix if Haaland were to become available again, but Laporta has told Cadena Ser when asked about possible interest: “With Haaland we’ll see how he does at City. We currently have [Robert] Lewandowski.”
While remaining coy on one current City star, Laporta was eager to point out that talk of a big-money move being made for a Portugal international playmaker at the Etihad Stadium is wide of the mark. He added: “We won’t pay 80 million for Bernardo Silva. That is for sure.”
Laporta was also asked about Barca’s long-term plans for replacing World Cup-winning midfielder Sergio Busquets, as his contract runs down towards free agency, with the Blaugrana president saying: “Ruben Neves is a great player, but this is part of private conversations. Busquets will not be eternal and there are internal discussions to find a guaranteed successor for him. Frenkie de Jong can play in this position, but it won’t be down to just one player. Xavi will decide.”
Lionel Messi left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent in 2021 as a result of Barcelona’s significant financial problems in past years. Catalonia still needs to balance its accounts before considering other high-value transfer agreements.