Two days ago, journalist David Bernabeu told Sport’s La Possession that Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is an ‘obsession’ for Barcelona president Joan Laporta.
The striker has been repeatedly linked with a move to Real Madrid since he arrived at Manchester City in 2022. The Catalan club are also in the picture for him.
Barca sporting director Deco has been speaking to Mundo Deportivo at length on various subjects. As part of the chat, he compared Robert Lewandowski to the 24-year-old.
Lewandowski turned 36 years of age in August and his deal at the Camp Nou lasts until 2026, with an option for another year. The newspaper asked Deco whether the Blaugrana are working on finding a replacement for the Pole.
The director states it’s not a priority for them at this moment in time and insists it won’t be easy to replace the former Bayern Munich man.
“I think it is very difficult to find a forward like Robert today. There are one or two of this level. Maybe Haaland or someone else. There aren’t that many of this level available,” he said.
“But we are not going to be obsessed with looking for any striker now because we are going to focus first on what Robert can do. I probably think he’s happy to be here. He is a winner and if we have an important season, I think he will want to continue.”
The La Liga side have struggled financially over the past few years. Mundo specifically asked the Barca official whether signing the Manchester City star is ‘utopia’, taking their economic conditions into account.
“First we have to know if Haaland is what we want for the future. We don’t know that now,” Deco explained.
“At the moment we don’t want any ‘nine’. We have Robert. We are not planning anything with any ‘nine’. When the time comes to make a decision and I have to make it because I am the one at the club, we will consider the options. But I don’t think now is the time to talk about any player.”
Deco didn’t categorically rule out the possibility of making an approach for Haaland in the future.
His deal lasts until 2027. On Tuesday, Sport stated Manchester City CEO recently travelled to Norway to work on extending Haaland’s contract until 2029 and remove the clause.
