Real Madrid Transfers: Why Barcelona is about to take itself out of the Erling Haaland race
Most Real Madrid fans did not see rivals FC Barcelona as serious challengers to sign Borussia Dortmund superstar striker Erling Haaland in the first place. But any Madridista who was cautious about Barça overcoming their financial issues with their pedigree as an elite club may now be a little bit less worried.
Although a deal is not quite official yet, it appears that Ferran Torres will be heading to La Blaugrana in the winter transfer window. The Torres-to-Barça rumors have been cooking for some time now, as Torres has wanted a return to Spain. He seems to relish the challenge of being a star who helps Xavi’s club get back on track again.
The Torres deal will reportedly cost La Blaugrana 55 million euros. That is a fair sum for a talented young winger from Manchester City who increased his reputation with big performances on an international stage, but it is nonetheless a hefty sum. And it has caused fans around Europe to raise their eyebrows, given Barcelona had to let their best player of all time, Lionel Messi, leave this past summer due to their serious financial issues stemming from the doomed Bartomeu presidency.
Torres is a player worth the money for Barça and can form an excellent attacking group with the likes of Ansu Fati and 2021 free agent signing Ansu Fati. But for Barcelona, signing Torres all but confirms that the club will not have the financial power to afford to pay Haaland’s hefty wages and bonuses package in the summer 2022 transfer window.
Real Madrid fans must respect what Ferran Torres can do for Barcelona, though
Real Madrid fans should feel pretty safe crossing their greatest rivals off the list of competitors, though most Madridistas have really only had eyes on the team that is selling Torres, Manchester City, as their main competition for Haaland.
Mino Raiola is on good terms with Joan Laporta, Barcelona’s current president, so expect to see him continue to talk up the Catalan club as a possible destination for his best attacking client. But if any Raiola client is to go to Barça, it may be Matthijs de Ligt if Juventus are forced to sell him at a discount rate.
As for Real Madrid, fans should not celebrate this seeming confirmation that Barcelona cannot sign Haaland. Torres is a player who has carved up Real before, albeit as a member of the Valencia starting XI. He impressed Los Blancos so much in LaLiga that the club tried to sign him from Valencia on multiple occasions. But most recently, they could not in 2020 due to the pandemic.
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Real’s loss has turned out to be Barça’s gain, assuming the deal goes over the line. However, Los Blancos have Vinicius Junior and eyes on two bigger stars in Kylian Mbappe and Haaland for 2022. So in the end, Madridistas won’t be worried, though they will have to respect the quality Torres will bring to future Clasicos. And after all, Barça never really had a shot at Haaland anyway, so Torres is the best they could have gotten at this stage.