Barcelona are working on a plan to raise €100 million (£83m/$113m) to fund the signing of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland in the summer, GOAL can confirm.
Dortmund will likely net a huge return on their initial €20m (£17m/£23m) investment in Haaland since snapping him up from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020, with the Norwegian scoring a staggering 80 goals in his first 79 appearances.
Haaland's performances have attracted attention from the world's biggest clubs, including Barca, who are determined to win the race for his signature later this year.
Barca plotting summer swoop
Dortmund have confirmed that Haaland won't be sold in the current transfer window, but have been unable to rule out the possibility of a sale at the end of the season.
The 21-year-old will only have two years left on his contract by then, and Barca are now working behind the scenes to make sure that they have the financial power to submit a formal offer.
The Catalan giants posted record-breaking debts last year and are still in the process of reducing their wage bill, but GOAL has learned that they can free up a significant amount of money for transfers by selling a 49 per cent stake in their media production company Barca Studios.
That sale would give the club €100m to go towards the cost of a deal for Haaland, but much could yet depend on their ongoing bid to recover part of their players' image rights.
As it stands, any potential investors in Barca Studios would be unable to make any audiovisual products with players individually as first-team stars currently commercialise image rights on their own.
La Liga is behind Barca in their pursuit of Haaland, though, and wants the club to push ahead with plans to sell the production company so that one of Europe's most sought-after talents can arrive in Spain.
What other steps must Barca take?
Barca have endured a turbulent 12 months that has seen the club overhauled from top to bottom, with Joan Laporta elected as club president for a second term amid the departure of a number of key players.
The Blaugrana were forced to part ways with captain and all-time record scorer Lionel Messi in the summer along with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Junior Firpo and Emerson Royal to get below La Liga's wage limit.
The club still have work to do, as GOAL has learned that their wage bill is still at €400m - which is €302m above the current cap in the Spanish top flight.
Barca would have to offload a few more high-profile stars in order to register Haaland, with Ousmane Dembele among those being tipped to follow Messi and Co out the Camp Nou exits.
Such a sacrifice could pay off big if they are able to land the Norway international, who boasts 23 goals through 20 outings for BVB so far in 2021-22.
The likes of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Manchester United have also been linked with Haaland, but Barca are already taking the necessary steps to see off their competition and seal one of the biggest transfer coups in recent memory.
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