The agent of Erling Haaland, Rafaela Pimenta, was tight-lipped about the striker’s exit clause in his contract with Manchester City but hinted that she would not say no to Barcelona President Joan Laporta.
It’s been reported that last year, Barcelona manager Xavi, led a delegation to Germany to meet with Haaland as the club was considering signing him.
The Norwegian striker had previously fueled rumors of a transfer to La Liga as he stated that he wanted to play in Spain at some point in his career.
The competition for his signature between Madrid and Barcelona was highly publicized and Xavi refused to rule out the possibility of signing Haaland in the future.
Now Pimenta, who was prominent in Mino Raiola’s agency before his death, has hinted at a future transfer to Barcelona sparking uncertainty about the forward’s long-term future at Man City.
In an interview with Diario AS (via Mirror), Pimenta was repeatedly asked if Haaland had a release clause in his contract, which becomes active in 2024.
However, she refused to answer the question, explaining that misunderstandings could easily occur and she preferred to remain silent on the matter.
When asked about the possibility of Haaland playing in Spain, Pimenta stated that he was happy at City and that it was not positive for a footballer to think about their next club while still playing for their current team.
She added that Haaland was “married” to City at the moment but that she would need to provide the key to his to his exit if he wished to leave in the future.
She said:
“Today he is happy at City. Tomorrow, we will have to think about it. It is not positive for a footballer to play one season thinking about the next.”
“This is like you start thinking about your next woman the day you get married! Today, Haaland is married. But I need to provide the key to his exit should he wish to do so.”
When asked about a potential move to Barcelona, she said:
“I have a strong relationship with (Barca president, Joan) Laporta,” she revealed. “I always say that Laporta can’t ask me for anything in football, he’s not fair, because he knows I’m going to say ‘yes!’”
And when asked about what his market value is currently, she said her client is worth €1bn. She explained:
“For me, Haaland is worth €1,000million (€1bn). Maybe nobody is going to pay that, but it is the potential that he has when he arrives at a club.
“With him come fans, goals, results, professionalism, digital content, notoriety, sponsors… if you put all this together, his value is an aggregate of many things. But the price of a footballer is actually set by a club.
“I know that nobody is going to pay €700m for a player, but I am very clear that the value that Erling adds when he arrives at a club is immense, at least €1,000m.”
Haaland has already scored an unbelievable 31 goals in 27 appearances for City this season after scoring 86 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund.
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