Man City’s €180 million-rated superstar had said ‘yes’ to Barcelona in 2022 – report

Over the past 12 hours or so, reports of Barcelona’s interest in signing Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland have started to do the rounds.

While some rumours claim that the plan is to go for the 23-year-old striker in the summer of 2026, a few others state that the centre-forward is the ‘dream target’ for next year.

This is not the first time that Barcelona have shown an interest in the Norwegian international for the club had him very much in their sights while he was still at Borussia Dortmund.

Haaland had said ‘yes’ to Barcelona in 2022

In fact, Mundo Deportivo reports that Haaland had said yes to Barcelona in 2022 but the club’s poor financial state meant that they were not in a position to sign him.

In the summer of 2022, before Robert Lewandowski ended up wearing at Barcelona and Haaland swapped Borussia Dortmund for Manchester City, the Catalans had already tried to sign the Norwegian.

In fact, the Blaugrana initiated contacts on 1 April 2021, when Haaland’s father and then agent, Mino Raiola, flew to Barcelona in a private jet to learn about Barça’s sporting project, before flying to Madrid the same afternoon.

The following day the striker’s entourage travelled to England, where they also visited Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Haaland could have joined Barça in 2022. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Months later, in that summer of 2021 when Lionel Messi left Barça, Haaland stayed at Dortmund for another year.

However, the Norwegian said ‘yes’ to Barça for the following season. In fact, in March 2022, manager Xavi Hernandez travelled to Munich to meet him in person and explain the project to him.

The 23-year-old, whose current market value stands at €180 million, was very excited about the option of wearing the Barcelona shirt.

However, the delicate economic situation of the Catalan club made it unfeasible for the operation to be carried out. And Barça ended up going for Lewandowski, signing him for €45 million plus €5 million in variables.

Revisiting the interest

While Barcelona missed out on Haaland in 2022, the door has always remained open for him at the club.

Last month there was a new approach, with the visit of his current agent, Rafaela Pimenta, to Barcelona, where she met with the Barça sporting director, Deco.

Barça’s roadmap for the Norwegian is clear: to try to sign him in the summer of 2025 when Lewandowski enters the optional last year of his contract. Whether they are successful this time out remains to be seen.

*Player valuation in title obtained from transfermarkt.com on date of publication