Barcelona president Joan Laporta ‘optimistic’ of future transfer for Manchester City superstar | OneFootball

Barcelona president Joan Laporta is reportedly ‘optimistic’ about his chances of signing Manchester City’s Erling Haaland at some stage in the future.

The speculation comes despite the Norwegian signing a new long-term contract at City earlier this year, tying him to the Etihad Stadium until 2034 in a landmark deal not only removing a release clause previously interesting clubs, but also underlining Haaland’s commitment.

Former Manchester City sporting director Txiki Begiristain described the agreement as a sign of the player’s “love for the club” and the club’s belief in him as a long-term leader of their attack.

Since his arrival in the summer of 2022, Erling Haaland has delivered extraordinary returns for Manchester City, recording a remarkable 150 goal contributions across 150 appearances among other scoring milestones, while also leading the club to UEFA Champions League glory.

Even with his profile and performances soaring in Manchester, Erling Haaland continues to be a figure of fascination for Europe’s elite with Real Madrid having long admired him as a potential Galáctico addition alongside Kylian Mbappé.

Elsewhere, Barcelona – despite their ongoing well-publicised financial restrictions – are now once again being linked to the striker through their president’s long-held admiration.

That is according to the information of Catalan newspaper El Nacional, who report that Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has been an ‘obsession’ of Barcelona’s Joan Laporta since he became president at the Camp Nou.

However, the club’s well-reported financial problems are said to have prevented Laporta from making a move for the Norway international in the past, particularly before he joined Manchester City in the summer of 2022.

Since then, it is claimed Barcelona have been ‘closely monitoring’ his progress, and while any move would be a ‘huge investment and costly’, Laporta is reportedly ‘optimistic’ and believes there is a ‘good chance’ the 25-year-old will end up signing for the Catalan giants in future.

For now, a switch to La Liga remains improbable with Barcelona’s economic challenges having restricted their activity in recent transfer windows, with Laporta himself admitting that major deals often require creative financing or player exits.

The scale of investment needed to land Erling Haaland – whose contract with Manchester City runs for nearly another decade – makes such a move a distant prospect unless the club experiences a dramatic financial turnaround.

At City, Haaland appears fully focused on adding to his growing legacy, having recently spoken of his joy at working under Pep Guardiola and of the environment that “brings the best out of everybody.”

However, given his superstar profile and the constant transfer speculation that surrounds him, links to clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid are unlikely to disappear any time soon.