Barcelona is looking for alternatives in case it cannot sign Haaland: the two world football stars that Xavi has in his portfolio

Although FC Barcelona is excited that the project led by Xavi Hernández could seduce big figures in the next transfer market, there is no guarantee that he will hire them. And it is well known that Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland is the priority at Camp Nou, but his arrival would entail a significant economic offer and competition with other clubs, so the Catalan coach evaluates some alternatives.

At Barça, aware of the enormous difficulty of getting hold of Haaland's services, they begin to consider other options. According to Mundo Deportivo, the one that Xavi likes the most is that of the Egyptian Mohamed Salah. The 29-year-old Liverpool attacker has been one of the best in Europe for several seasons.

“It is the alternative to Haaland that Xavi likes best ahead of other first swords in the area such as Robert Lewandowski (34), who is not in the process of renewing the contract that expires in 2023 at Bayern, and Romelu Lukaku (28), who is not indisputable for Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea,” points out the aforementioned Catalan media.

Salah does not want to extend his contract, which expires in June 2023, and would fit into the plans of the barça strategist. He is not a centre-forward but he is a threat to any defender from the right wing. He has an extraordinary technical quality, managed to win the Premier League Golden Boot twice (2018 and 2019) and can even play as a fake '9′.

“In the sports area of Barça, the name of Salah also fits because he is a different and special footballer, with enough personality to be the leader or one of the leaders of a project as he is demonstrating in Liverpool,” they added in MD, where they emphasize that he can also have an impact on the African market and mainly in Egypt.

However, in addition to Salah's option there is an alternative that can have a tremendous impact: Kylian Mbappé. The PSG star, who is apparently very close to being a Real Madrid player, has the culé entity also following him closely. “Barça enters the scene for Mbappé,” reported the newspaper L'Équipe on Thursday night.

The French newspaper points out that PSG is already aware that FC Barcelona has an interest in the 23-year-old striker who will go free next summer and, according to FIFA's transfer regulations, has the power to discuss with any club during the last six months of his contract, with the only condition of notifying your current club. That is, Barça would have already notified Paris Saint-Germain about it.

Real Madrid assumed that Mbappé was going to join the club as of June 30, when his contract with PSG ended, but reports indicate that his top rival also intends to take over the services of one of the greatest figures in world football today .

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