From Spain: Joan Laporta eyeing dream swoop for Manchester City superstar amid Julian Alvarez regrets | OneFootball

Manchester City and Norway forward Erling Haaland remains a dream target for Barcelona president Joan Laporta, as per a new report.

Haaland committed his long-term future to the Etihad Stadium by penning a sensational 10-year deal in January that has extended the Leeds-bon striker’s contract at Manchester City till the end of the 2033-34 season.

Since joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, Haaland has established himself as arguably the greatest number nine in world football and underlined his continuing importance to Pep Guardiola by grabbing a crucial brace in a 2-2 draw with AS Monaco in the UEFA Champions League this week.

The Norwegian has made a blistering start to the 2025-26 season, with 11 goals in eight appearances in all competitions since the start of the campaign, ahead of this weekend’s trip to Brentford as Manchester City look to build on their recent run of encouraging form.

Manchester City faced stiff competition from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich in their pursuit of Haaland three years ago, with the finances involved in the deal and the sporting project on offer at the Etihad Stadium ultimately luring Haaland to the club his father Alfie played between 2000-03.

Barcelona and Real Madrid remain huge admirers of Haaland but a deal in the coming seasons is highly unlikely, with Haaland very happy in Manchester and solidifying his commitment to the eight-time Premier League champions by putting pen to paper and signing a long-term contract with the Blues.

Upon his appointment as Manchester City’s director of football this summer, Hugo Viana conducted a major revamp of Guardiola’s squad and Haaland will be impressed by the determination amongst club executives behind the scenes to forge a winning side after City’s underwhelming 2024-25 season.

City have also tied Ruben Dias, Rico Lewis and Nico O’Reilly to new deals in recent months and are expected to step up contract renewal talks with Phil Foden and Ballon d’Or winning midfielder Rodri as the 2025-26 season progresses – with Brazilian forward Savinho also agreeing to fresh terms with an official renewal announcement looming.

Spanish outlet Sport have reported that Barcelona have not given up in their desire to bring Haaland to Catalonia and have set out to secure the arrival of the Manchester City forward after failing to sign Julian Alvarez last summer, as relayed by Sport Witness.

Alvarez was of interest to Barcelona when the 25-year-old expressed a desire for a fresh challenge – after two trophy-laden seasons at Manchester City – with Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone winning the race to sign the FIFA World Cup winner for £82 million.

It is objectively next to impossible for Barcelona to afford the financial burden involved in a deal for Haaland, with the restraints of the COVID-19 pandemic still weighing down at the Spotify Camp Nou and derailing the Spanish giants’ from being the attraction they used to be historically for the world’s best players.

Haaland is as settled as he can be in England and it would require Guardiola calling it a day in Manchester for the Norwegian to think about life beyond the Etihad Stadium, though club officials will do everything in their power to keep hold of their talisman till the end of his current deal.