After all the rumours and speculations that carried on for months and months, there is clarity on the future of Erling Haaland.
The 21-year-old Borussia Dortmund striker, who was being chased by almost every giant in Europe, including Barcelona, will be signing for Manchester City, with the Premier League champions issuing an official confirmation.
Barça, for one, spent a lot of time and effort to try and sign Haaland from Dortmund. Joan Laporta and Xavi Hernandez were keen on making him the marquee signing of the summer transfer window until recently.
But, as reported by SPORT, there were several factors that spelled an end to the Blaugrana’s pursuit of the Norwegian international.
Commissions
Considering the Catalan giants’ financial situation, a deal was always going to be difficult. What made it even more complicated for the club was the economic demands from Haaland’s camp.
As stated by the report, in general, agent commissions range between 5-10% of the total transfer fee, which in this case is his release clause of €75 million. So, ideally, the commissions should have been between €4-10 million.
But Haaland’s agents (the company of late Mino Raiola), demanded a sum of €50 million as commission, while the striker’s father also wanted a ‘signing-on’ fee of €50 million. And, Barcelona were unwilling to shell out that sum, as they considered it “immoral and unethical”.
Salary demands
Barcelona, as iterated earlier, find their hands tied due to the finances. And that will prohibit them from handing out big contracts to incoming players in the summer.
So, Haaland’s massive salary of €30 million per year, which comes down to €600,000 per week was out of the question for the Blaugrana. They are trying to change their policies from the past of handing out lavish deals to bring in a much more restricted and controlled model.
It has seen them stick to a maximum of €6 million per year deal for all the players who have recently signed new contracts as well as the two new signings in Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie. So, paying Haaland’s exorbitant wage was not on the cards.
Release clause
The final reason for Barcelona ending their pursuit was the player’s camp demanding a release clause worth €150 million which would come into effect in his second season.
Haaland’s camp stressed on this aspect as they could secure an exit for the striker in case things did not go well in his first year at the club.
But Barça were reluctant to accept these terms as they wished to insert a clause worth a much higher value that would go in accordance with the investment made in him.
With the move falling through, Barcelona are looking at other options who would not only cost much lesser than Haaland but also be willing to accept lower wages.
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