KEY POINTS

  • Messi left Barcelona as a free agent to join PSG
  • Barcelona want to sign Pogba and Haaland next summer
  • Pogba has just one year left on his current Man Utd deal

FC Barcelona are reportedly planning to sign Erling Haaland and Paul Pogba next summer as a part of their re-building post the Lionel Messi-era.

Apart from Pogba and Haaland, whose signings currently look far-fetched considering Barcelona’s ongoing financial crisis, the Catalans’ primary target is RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo, reported Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo. Olmo is contracted with the Bundesliga club until 2024.

Borussia Dortmund’s Haaland could be available at around $105 million next summer, according to soccer website Football365.

Pogba has just one year left on his current contract with Manchester United and it is not hidden anymore that the Frenchman could leave Old Trafford as a free agent. Pogba, who has been linked with either a move to Real Madrid or a return to his former club Juventus, recently admitted that he is happy at Manchester United and the current Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side is the best Red Devils team he has been a part of.

"Paul Pogba is out of contract in June, so we’ll talk with Man Utd and we’ll see what happens. Juventus? Paul still loves Turin. There’s a chance that Pogba will return to Juventus, yes - but it also depends on Juventus plans," Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola recently said in an interview.

While Barcelona could secure Pogba without spending a euro, the player’s wages are expected to be mammoth.

It is understood that in order to convince Pogba to sign an extension, Manchester United are preparing to make the midfielder the highest-paid player in the Premier League on a deal worth more than $547,000-a-week.

It will not be an easy task to land Pogba at Camp Nou for Barcelona, especially since the club recently let go of Messi and Antoine Griezmann just to reduce their wage bill.

Erling Haaland
Dortmund's Norwegian forward Erling Braut Haaland celebrates the 0-1 goal during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund in Leverkusen, western Germany, on September 11, 2021. Photo by ROBERTO PFEIL/AFP via Getty Images

Pogba and Haaland have the same agent -- Raiola -- who is believed to be on very good terms with Barcelona chief Joan Laporta.

In the ongoing season, Haaland has already netted 11 goals, apart from making four assists in just eight competitive appearances for Dortmund. On the other hand, Pogba is enjoying one of the best Premier League starts of his career. In as many as five league matches, Pogba has assisted a total of seven goals, the most by any player in the 2021-22 Premier League.

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