A former Barcelona player who was once hailed as “the next Lionel Messi” is about to leave Dutch club Fortuna Sittard.
Alen Halilović signed for Barcelona as a 17-year-old, and many thought the Croatian midfielder was such a promising talent that he would be quickly integrated into the first team.
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At the time, however, Barcelona’s midfield consisted of Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi, so naturally, the options for the young players were limited.
He never managed to establish himself at Barcelona, where he only got one official game before being loaned to Sporting Gijón in 2015 and signing permanently for Hamburg the following year.
Now he plays for Fortuna Sittard, his 12th club, but could be forced out while the Dutch club looks to sign Mohamed Ihattaren.
According to Dutch magazine VI, Fortuna will only aim to sign Ihattaren if Halilović leaves the club.
Halilović is said to be an option for MLS clubs and is open to a club switch. The publication directly described him as: “A significant burden on the budget and [he] has not delivered according to expectations.”
“When Halilović leaves, Fortuna can chase Ihattaren.”
Last week, the Croatian website tportal reported that FK and Trabzonspor were also interested in Halilović, who is now 29 years old.
Reflecting on his career in an interview with The Athletic in 2024, Halilović said:
“The first two years were perfect at Barcelona, but I expected to get a chance in the first team in the third year. Then I realized that Luis Enrique didn’t see me there.”
“I was actually going to stay for another year, because it went really well. I was hoping to be selected for the European Championships with the national team, but I wasn’t selected, and Barcelona decided I had to go out on loan again, so I was a bit frustrated about everything.”
“I didn’t want to go out on loan again, so I thought, ‘Damn, I’m running out of here.'”
“When you’re young, you think you don’t have time and I had to compete with (Andrés) Iniesta and Xavi (at Barcelona). Looking back now, I just needed to be patient. Train and wait. It will come.”
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