The agent of Borussia Dortmund starlet Erling Haaland - Mino Raiola - has revealed that he has not spoken to Emili Rousaud about the prospect of the striker joining Barcelona, should Rousaud become the club's new president.
The 54-year-old Spaniard is in the running to land the top post at the Nou Camp, as the La Liga giants aim to enter a new dawn following no shortage of off-field troubles.
Should Rousaud win the race and become the Catalan giants' new president, there is talk of the club striking an agreement with Dortmund to seal a deal to sign Haaland.
According to Josep Maria Minguella, who is Rousaud's aide, the 20-year-old Norwegian international would join Barcelona if Rousaud landed the post.
As reported by AS in Spain, Minguella said: "We know all the conditions and if we win, the following day I will call Mino Raiola and we will accept those conditions. I have already advised him of that.
"We have a world-class sports project that is not showing just now, but Emili Rousaud has a plan that will turn this unfortunate situation (at Barcelona) around."
Haaland, who has scored 17 times in 14 games for Dortmund this season, has a release clause in his contract of £65million, but that does not come into effect until June 2022. Although that figure will probably seem a cheap price to pay for any club looking to get a deal over the line for him, it is still 18 months away, meaning his actual value will be a lot higher than his release clause by that point.
Although Rousaud is said to have an agreement in place to sign Haaland if he becomes Barcelona's new club president, it's news to Raiola, who is the agent of some of the world's biggest stars, including former AC Milan and Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Speaking to Sport1, Raiola said: “Fake news. I’ve never talked to any presidential candidate of Barcelona regarding Haaland and I won’t do.
"If there will be a new president elected in January, he can call me.”
This news will be music to the ears of several of Haaland's other suitors, including Chelsea. The Blues, according to reports in Italy, are keen to strike a deal for the striker as soon as January, with head coach Frank Lampard having told the club's hierarchy to prioritise a move for him in January.
Chelsea were the Premier League's biggest spenders during the summer transfer window, splashing out more than £220million, and it is possible that they could look to continue that big-money spending spree in the New Year.
Though Lampard is keen on Haaland, who is tipped to become one of the very best players in the world, he is poised to face no shortage of competition, with the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all keen on securing his services.
But with Raiola having insisted he has had no contact with Rousaud about the prospect of his client joining Barcelona, this will act as an encouraging boost to those also interested in his services, offering them a potential boost of another club being out of the running for the time being.
