The Athletic believe they know the names of the six clubs in the conversation to sign Erling Haaland – and there’s no sign of Barcelona.
As is mentioned in the report, the Borussia Dortmund striker has a €75M release clause in his contract which will become active in the summer of 2022, but his potential suitors may not be prepared to wait that long to sign him.
MORE: Manchester United and Chelsea learn the extraordinary potential cost of Erling Haaland deal
That is, in the current climate, an absolute bargain for a player of Haaland’s quality, with the potential he possesses, so the majority of the clubs in the race to sign the Norwegian will be well aware of say Real Madrid’s ability to pay that figure.
It’s for that reason that a transfer battle could happen ahead of time this summer, with The Athletic reporting that the clubs involved are as follows: Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
When it comes to a transfer race for a player of world-class ability, you’d usually expect to see Barcelona’s name in there. But, for whatever reason, if The Athletic are to be believed, they appear to have counted themselves out of the running.