Barcelona eye Manchester City superstar to ‘fill the gap’ left by Lionel Messi – €150 million per season sponsorship to add cash | OneFootball

Manchester City could be subject to shock interest from Barcelona in superstar striker Erling Haaland following an imminent cash injection at the La Liga club.

The Norway international is continuously being linked with his next big-money move in his top-level career, despite excelling and appearing more than content with his current lifestyle and environment on offer at Manchester City.

The 23-year-old has broken a long list of records since moving into Pep Guardiola’s side from Borussia Dortmund in the summer window of 2022, claiming almost every piece of silverware on offer, including back-to-back Premier League titles and a Champions League crown.

But despite the ongoing success and a ‘100 per cent commitment’ to the squad for the forthcoming season, according to his agent Rafaela Pimenta during a recent interview, Erling Haaland has now been once again linked with a City exit.

The latest club to be tied to interest in the Norwegian forward is an icon of Spanish football, but a club strapped for cash in recent seasons due to widespread financial restraints across the club.

That is according to the information of FootballTransfers’ Steve Kay, who reports that FC Barcelona want Manchester City’s Erling Haaland to ‘fill the gap’ left by Lionel Messi when the Argentine legend moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.

It is explained that Barcelona’s impending influx of cash through a sponsorship from Nike – a reported €150 million per season – is being earmarked to cover Haaland’s transfer fee to exit the Etihad Stadium and wages.

Manchester City and Barcelona are often linked to one another through the transfer market, and have completed several deals over the last few seasons, largely in the direction of the Catalan club.

Ilkay Gundogan, Ferran Torres, and Eric Garcia are among the most high-profile names to have made the switch, whilst Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero culminated his career at Camp Nou following an exit from England.

The ongoing summer market is likely to bring the two sides together once again too, but not concerning Erling Haaland, with Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo heavily linked with interest from Barcelona, and the latter expected to finalise a deal of a permanent or temporary nature.