Barca and Bayern again fighting for the same player

Besides being connected through their membership in the society of Europe’s biggest clubs, Bayern and Barcelona are giants with the same taste. They unfailingly like the exact same things. Barcelona are coached by former Bayern manager Hansi Flick, and up front they have Robert Lewandowski, once Bayern’s goal-scoring machine. Mark van Bommel, Thiago Alcantara, and Philippe Coutinho all went from Camp Nou to the Allianz Arena, just as Arturo Vidal moved from Munich to Barcelona.

But in recent years, whenever they sense a potential reinforcement, it often turns out to be the same player at exactly the same moment. A few seasons ago they were both eyeing Norwich’s right-back Max Aarons, then Barcelona won the battle for Sergino Dest, they liked Nico Williams at the same time, as well as Luis Díaz. Barca couldn’t afford the Colombian, and Bayern used that to seduce him. We could see a new round of seduction next June because Alejandro Grimaldo is in the plans of both Barcelona and Bayern.

Barcelona is taking its shopping bag and list to Germany

The Bayer Leverkusen left-back’s contract expires on June 30, 2027, and Bayern see him as a replacement for Raphael Guerreiro, whose departure from the Allianz Arena at the end of his contract in June 2026 is very realistic. While Bild announces that the Spaniard will be a hot topic in Munich in a little over six months, Mundo Deportivo reports that Grimaldo — once a club youth product and a member of La Masia — is Barcelona’s first choice.

Alejandro Balde at left-back currently isn’t delivering as expected (he’s 23), and secondary options such as Gerard Martín (23) and Jofre Torrents (18) are still not developed enough for the highest level demanded by Barcelona. Utopian options like Josko Gvardiol or Nuno Mendes are unrealistic and out of reach for the Catalans. Hence the focus on Grimaldo, who has a release clause for Spanish clubs in the range of 15–20 million euros. Barcelona also have plan B and C in their former player João Cancelo and Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz (29). In the final year of his contract, approaching age 31, Grimaldo’s price (currently valued at 30 million euros by Transfermarkt) won’t be too high — especially for a player with such technique, experience, and magical set-piece ability. This season, in 15 appearances in all competitions, he already has seven goals and four assists.