Manchester City star Erling Haaland 'prioritising' Barcelona move after having 'already agreed' transfer: report

Erling Haaland of Manchester City reacts after missing a penalty for his team during the Premier League match between Sheffield United and Manchester City at Bramall Lane on August 27, 2023 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland wants to move to Barcelona over Real Madrid, after previously giving his word to the Catalans that he'd join.

Haaland is only in his second season in England but last month, he refused to rule out a transfer to La Liga, with speculation rife that both Clasico outfits want to bring him to Spain. The 23-year-old has apparently bought a property in the country in the last year, too, to fuel more rumours. 

After a disappointing afternoon against Arsenal at the weekend, the Spanish media are still speculating on his next move, with Barcelona chief Joan Laporta wanting to bring the Leeds-born forward to the Camp Nou.

president Joan Laporta of FC Barcelona during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Rayo Vallecano v FC Barcelona at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas on November 25, 2023 in Madrid Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images) Real Madrid Kylian Mbappe

Barcelona president Joan Laporta wants Erling Haaland (Image credit: Getty Images)

Sport in Spain claims that Haaland would ‘prioritise’ the Blaugrana, following Mundo Deportivo's recent report that the forward almost signed for the club before.

”In the summer of 2021, in which Leo Messi ended up leaving Barça, Haaland finally [agreed to remain] at Dortmund for another year,” Mundo Deportivo claimed. “However, the Norwegian said ‘yes’ to Barça for the following season.”

Ultimately, Barcelona signed fellow Bundesliga bagsman Robert Lewandowski, though it's been claimed that Barça still covet Haaland. Sport, meanwhile, cites Bojan Krkic's father as a source.

Robert Lewandowski of FC Barcelona during the prematch warm up ahead the LaLiga EA Sports match between FC Barcelona and Cadiz CF at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on August 20, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.

Robert Lewandowski signed for Barcelona rather than Erling Haaland (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo's view, however, there's absolutely no chance of Haaland leaving Manchester City this summer – despite interest from Barcelona for a future transfer down the line. Even then, it's not certain that they'd be able to afford him in even two or three seasons' time, factoring in their financial constraints, the power of the Premier League and potential inflation in the transfer market. 

Haaland is worth €180m, according to Transfermarkt

More Manchester City stories

Erling Haaland has been compared to a League Two striker, in a vicious rant from Roy Keane. Meanwhile, new footage has emerged of the Norwegian forward motivating his team-mates for the Champions League final. 

City have been dealt a blow in the pursuit of one teenager, while they lead the race for another wonderkid. Haaland is apparently a target for Barcelona, too. 

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.

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