Barcelona withdraw from race to sign Erling Haaland

Barcelona have ruled themselves out of the race to sign Erling Haaland.

Despite recently declaring that Barcelona were back in business after a crippling financial crisis and were capable of signing anyone, club president Joan Laporta said they were no longer interested in the Norwegian due to his exorbitant cost.

"Even if we had the best possible financial situation, there are some operations that we will not do," Laporta told Catalan television on Sunday.

"The sporting directors are working hard to improve the team and we want to make signings, but there are some that are very difficult."

Barcelona were forced to part ways with all-time top scorer Lionel Messi last August due to their colossal debt levels, which were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The majority of their recent signings have been on free transfers although they made an emphatic return to the transfer market in January by signing Ferran Torres for £46 million.

But Laporta warned the club are still not out of the woods with regards to their financial problems.

"We have to save ourselves," he added.

"We have improved the situation, but we have to finish the job of turning the financial situation around. And we won't do any operations that put the club at risk."

According to the latest reports, Manchester City are set to land Haaland after agreeing personal terms with the Norwegian.

Although Haaland's £63 million buy-out clause is relatively affordable for a club like Barca, the operation is far more expensive than a normal transfer.

That's because his agent Mino Riaola is set to earn a huge commission for overseeing the deal, as high as £46 million) according to some reports.

And then there's the player's salary demands, which are reported to be as high as £21 million per year.