Barcelona have been told how to sign Erling Haaland – and Lionel Messi holds the key

Robin Bairner

• 18 Mar 2026 08:22 GMT
• 4 min read

News

Barcelona have been told that if they want to sign Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi must first make his return to the club.

Haaland to Barca became an active topic in the run-up to the presidential election on Sunday, which was won by incumbent Joan Laporta in a landslide victory.

The Catalans are on the lookout for a new centre-forward this summer, with Robert Lewandowski set to leave for MLS when his contract expires at the end of June.

Compared

Erling Haaland

F (C)

Man City

Erling Haaland

F (C)

Man City

VS

Lionel Messi 

F (CR)

Inter Miami

Lionel Messi 

F (CR)

Inter Miami

€145.5M	ETV	€13.9M
€131M - €160.1M	ETV Range	€12.5M - €15.3M
25 years old (21 Jul, 2000)	Age	38 years old (24 Jun, 1987)
Norway	Nationality	Argentina

Marc Ciria, who was a presidential candidate to drop out before election day, explained what Barcelona need to do in order to sign a world star like Haaland – and it all hinges around Messi.

“To get Haaland, Messi has to return as a strategic partner,” he claimed on Cadena SER.

“The first thing is to bring Messi back to the club and give him the tribute he deserves. An idol like him, the best player in the history of football, who came up through La Masia, is a draw for thousands of members.

“This would imply an impact of more than €200 million, just because of what his return represents globally.

“He was kicked out of the club, just as many members have been. We want to bring this club back to its members, and with Messi at the helm, we are very excited to have the Barca we deserve again.”

Laporta offers Messi olive branch

Laporta and Messi, meanwhile, have an ongoing rift.

The Barcelona president once again indicated a willingness to heal the wound after his victory in the election.

“Leo will be linked to Barcelona in whatever way he wants to be,” Laporta is quoted by Fox Sports as saying.

“He deserves a tribute [match] and also a statue. That would be hugely significant. Only Ladislao Kubala and Johan Cruyff have statues at the stadium. The doors at Barca are always open to him, whenever he wishes, so that he can continue to strengthen and bring greatness to this institution.”

Can Barcelona sign Haaland?

Much of the noise generated about Haaland to Barcelona was generated by Laporta’s defeated rival, Victor Font.

He claimed that he had started talks with Manchester City over a transfer in the distant future.

“In the short-term he's not a possible signing,” he said. “We are speaking about it with City. They have no interest in selling Haaland, of course, but they recognise you never know what can happen with a player in the medium to long-term.”

Rafaela Pimenta, Haaland’s agent, was swift to shut the claim down.

“We have a lot of respect and admiration for Barcelona, but there hasn't been any contact whatsoever regarding a potential transfer," Pimenta told La Sexta (via ESPN).

This came much to the delight of Laporta.

“The player’s agent has already denied what Mr. Font has clamed. This lie that Mr. Font has constructed has already been denied. It backfired, you have no sense of ridicule. They have already denied what you say,” he gloated.

Haaland to Barcelona is, therefore, something that no one appears to be considering for the moment.