The timing of Barca’s interest is no coincidence. With Robert Lewandowski set to leave in 2026, the Catalan giants are already exploring how to replace him long-term. And while that is no easy task, the idea of eventually prising Haaland from City has never left the boardroom in Barcelona.
This is not a new story - their admiration for Haaland stretches back to before he even joined City - but whispers around the player insist that if and when the time comes for him to move, Barcelona would be his preference.
Real Madrid have held interest previously, too, but already have star power. With Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior leading the line at the Bernabeu, fitting Haaland into the team looks complicated.
Barca, on the other hand, see him as the centrepiece of their next great side, and Haaland does have a degree of interest.
Making it happen is still tricky.
Haaland only recently penned a remarkable nine-and-a-half-year contract with City - a deal that wiped away exit clauses and tied him down on the most secure terms possible.
That makes him more expensive than ever. If Alexander Isak is worth £125m, Haaland may even surpass Neymar’s £200m world-record switch from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
For now, Haaland is content in Manchester.
He enjoys life under Pep Guardiola, he is scoring goals for fun and he is central to City’s bid to recapture dominance.
But there is a sense that at some stage, he will want to test himself on a different stage.
Barcelona will keep circling, waiting for their moment. This is the kind of transfer saga that will not go away - and while it might take a while for the breakthrough, the Catalans seem to truly believe that one day Haaland will be theirs.
