Erling Haaland is in his first full season at Borussia Dortmund, but his influence on Signal Iduna Park is such that he is associated with moving to the European giant.
Haaland’s agent rejects speculations about the deal with Barcelona
Mino Raiola has rejected speculation that he dealt with the Barcelona presidential candidate to take Erling Haaland to the Camp Nou. Haaland is in his first full season at Borussia Dortmund. But his influence on Signal Iduna Park is such that he is associated with moving to the European giant. The likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid were linked. And Barcelona presidential candidate Emili Rousaud reportedly made Haaland’s signature one of his priorities. Josep Maria Minguella advises Rousaud and argues that the fundamentals are in place for a deal to be done. “We know all the details, and if we win, the next day I will call Mino Raiola, and we will accept these conditions. I have already advised him about it,” Minguella said.
The Fake News
“We have a world-class sports project that is currently not showing. But Emili Rousaud has a plan to turn this unfortunate situation at Barcelona around”. Raiola claims that these messages are “fake news” and has never spoken to any Barcelona presidential candidates. “Fake news!” Raiola said. “I have never spoken to any Barcelona presidential candidate about Haaland or any of my clients, and I will not do that. If there is a new Barcelona president elected in January, he can call me”. Raiola’s comments seem rather unequivocal, but Minguella said that he negotiated with an agent, not with the presidential candidate himself.
Thus, it may well be true that Raiola did not speak to Rousaud. But that does not mean that there is no basis for a deal that would be extended if he won the election. The speculation will not please Dortmund as they want to steady the ship following a torrid December that saw coach Lucien Favre depart following a 5-1 loss to Stuttgart. The club are also hoping that the New Year will see Haaland return to the side after a hamstring injury. Dortmund returns to action against Wolfsburg at home on 3 January. The club currently sits in fifth place in the Bundesliga table, eight points behind the leaders Bayern Munich.