Livaković in Barcelona as €4m transfer nears completion

Dominik Livaković has touched down in Barcelona as he prepares to put pen to paper on a move to the Catalan giants from Turkish club Fenerbahçe, with the Croatian goalkeeper clearly thrilled to be making the switch.

Loan to Dinamo or stay and fight for his place?

The big question surrounding the transfer is whether Livaković will play for Barcelona this season or be sent straight back out on loan to Dinamo Zagreb, his boyhood club. Speaking after landing in Catalonia, the keeper was tight-lipped.

“I’m very happy to be here,” he said. When asked whether he would stay at the Camp Nou or depart on loan, he simply replied, “we’ll see.”

Barcelona already boast Wojciech Szczęsny and Joan Garcia between the posts, with rumours suggesting the club wanted to loan Livaković for a season while Szczęsny remains as backup to Garcia. Competing whispers, however, suggest he could stay at Barcelona as Garcia’s deputy without going on loan at all.

Salary space the deciding factor

The main factor in the decision is reportedly whether Barcelona will have enough room within the FIFA Fair Play salary limit. If there is space, he stays; if not, he goes out on loan and rejoins in a year’s time.

Barça are understood to be paying around €4 million to sign the goalkeeper from the Turkish giants. Livaković spent the first half of last season on loan at Girona FC before moving on loan to Dinamo Zagreb, his boyhood club, for the remainder of the campaign.

A World Cup icon for Croatia

A genuine star for Croatia, Livaković has been his country’s first-choice goalkeeper for two FIFA World Cups, finishing runner-up and third respectively. He was one of the standout performers of the 2022 tournament, saving three penalties in a shootout victory against Japan and then producing eleven saves during the match, plus another in the shootout, in a famous win over Brazil.