Barcelona presidential candidate ‘negotiates’ bombshell Haaland deal with Man City chief Viana – ‘I’m convinced…’ | OneFootball

Barcelona presidential candidate Victor Font insists the Catalan giants must “prepare” for the signing of Erling Haaland after his team ‘negotiated’ a bombshell deal with Manchester City chiefs in Madrid this week.

Haaland has scored an absurd 153 goals in 186 appearances for the Citizens since joining them for a measly £51m after the Premier League side triggered his Borussia Dortmund release clause.

He’s won four major trophies at the Etihad after arriving in the summer of 2022, including the treble in the 2022/23 season, which prompted him and Manchester City to agree a whopping 10-year contract extension, which expires in 2034 and sees him earn £525,000 per week.

Both Real Madrid and Barcelona continue to sniff around the Norwegian striker despite that deal and Font – who’s running against incumbent president Joan Laporta in the Barcelona election, which will be held on March 15 – evidently sees Haaland as a key agenda item which could swing votes in his favour.

Speaking on Radio Barcelona during the programme Que t’hi jugues, as per Mundo Deportivo, Font was asked about Haaland and Barcelona’s interest in the prolific forward and claimed they must “prepare” for his arrival as “10-yer contracts are rarely fulfilled”.

“Haaland is one of the best centre forwards in the world, without a doubt,” Font said.

“In the short term, he is not available for signing because he renewed a very long-term contract last year.

“But personally, I am convinced that these 10-year contracts are rarely fulfilled.

“Anything is possible, and we have to be prepared for a player of this talent, who has said he likes Spain and declared last year that he loves Camp Nou, to make a move.”

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Font ‘negotiates preferential buy option’ for Haaland

Font’s comments arrive on the back of a report from SPORT which claims two members of his team, Carles Planchart and Xavier Aguilar, were seen leaving the Manchester City hotel this week as they fell to a shock 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid.

The report claims ‘meetings were held with the CEO of the English club, Ferran Soriano, and with his sports director, Hugo Viana’ and one of the items of discussion was a possible ‘preferential buy option’ for Haaland if/when the time comes for him to leave City.

While the report admits that there are no immediate plans for City to allow Haaland to leave, or indeed for the striker to push for the exit, Barcelona are seeking assurances from the Premier League club that they will be first in the queue for the 25-year-old; crucially, ahead of bitter La Liga rivals Real Madrid.

Secret ‘clauses’ give Barcelona hope

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, reporting for TBR Football in November, there are ‘clauses’ in his Man City contract that could tee up an Etihad exit in the future.

“City sources originally said that with the new nine-year deal running to 2034, his previous clauses had been removed. But sources close to the deal – and at Barca and Real – think there are still some clauses in there. And let’s not forget every major deal Haaland has signed has had clauses,” Bailey reports.

“… We’re not expecting Haaland to leave in the next 18 months. Barcelona have accepted that he’s likely to be at City beyond 2026. He is still their long-term dream target, but right now, he’s fully focused on the season… So, for now, nothing’s imminent, but in 18 months’ time, it could become a real talking point… And yes, my sources confirm there are clauses in his contract that could play a part in his future down the line.”

Despite all that, sources told back in December that City seem convinced that Haaland is not in a moment when he is looking to make the switch to Spain – and that he will stick with the club for the time being at least.

Everything points towards Haaland staying with Man City at this stage, especially if Guardiola sticks around for another two campaigns, as per his contract.

“Tell me one club for which it wouldn’t be a dream to have Erling Haaland? I understand that it’s a dream for Barcelona to want him. If he weren’t with us, it would also be a dream for City,” Guardiola said in October.

“What’s going to happen? Honestly, I don’t know. He has a long contract here; I think he’s doing very well, scoring a lot of goals, always trying to improve, always creating more chances to score.

“I don’t think Erling is stupid enough to sign something he doesn’t intend to fulfill. That’s for sure. But in football, who knows what the future will bring?”

Man City given Tino Livramento hope; Doku in demand

Meanwhile, TEAMtalk can confirm that Newcastle ARE open to selling Manchester City target Tino Livramento this summer, with sources explaining the two-pronged reason why a sale is being considered and with intermediaries now working on bringing a transfer to the table.

Manchester City and Pep Guardiola are long-time admirers of the England international, though they are far from his only suitors.

In other news, we can reveal that Jeremy Doku is attracting interest from one of LaLiga’s biggest sides ahead of the summer transfer window, with sources revealing that the Manchester City winger is planning to seek assurances about his long-term role at the club.