Barcelona Nears Deal for Livakovic as Long-Term Goalkeeper

FC Barcelona’s goalkeeping plan is taking shape, even if one crucial detail remains unresolved.

With Joan Garcia already earmarked as the club’s long-term No. 1, the Catalans are moving to lock in his future deputy for the post-Wojciech Szczesny era. The Polish veteran’s contract runs until June 2027, and Barcelona want the succession mapped out well before then.

Dominik Livakovic has moved to the front of the queue.

€3 million agreement with Fenerbahce

According to Croatian outlet IndexHR, echoed in Spain by SPORT, Barcelona and Fenerbahce have reached a broad agreement for the Croatian international. The operation is expected to cost around €3 million plus a series of performance-related variables.

The idea on the table is clear: sign Livakovic now, park him on loan for a year, then bring him in as Szczesny’s understudy and Garcia’s backup. Dinamo Zagreb have been identified as the preferred destination for that interim season, a return to familiar territory for the 29-year-old.

On paper, it’s a neat piece of long-term planning. Secure a proven international, ease him back into a starring role at Dinamo, then plug him straight into the Camp Nou hierarchy.

Reality, though, is a little more complicated.

Future mapped out, but not final

Sources at SPORT insist the deal is advanced but not sealed. The framework with Fenerbahce is largely in place, yet Livakovic’s immediate future is still being debated.

The initial blueprint sends him to Dinamo Zagreb on loan. That remains the leading option. But it is not the only one.

Other scenarios are in play: a loan to a different club, or even an immediate role in Barcelona’s first team this season. The latter would depend on the club’s salary-cap room and their ability to register another senior goalkeeper without breaching La Liga limits.

So the structure of the transfer is close to agreed. The timing of Livakovic’s arrival in Barcelona is not.

What is not in doubt is the club’s conviction. His performances at the World Cup made a strong impression on Barcelona’s sporting department, who see him as a reliable, experienced figure to sit behind Garcia and eventually take over Szczesny’s spot in the pecking order.

Agent at the heart of the talks

A familiar name at Barcelona is helping to hold the deal together. Andy Bara, Livakovic’s agent, enjoys a close relationship with the club and is one of the central figures trying to find a formula that satisfies all parties: Fenerbahce, Dinamo (if they are involved), Barcelona and the player himself.

With that many moving pieces, the operation has layers. But the direction of travel is clear: Barcelona want Livakovic, and Livakovic is on board with the project. The question is where he plays his football over the next 12 months.

Girona spell best forgotten

Spain is not entirely new to Livakovic, though his first brush with La Liga was one to forget.

Last summer, he joined Girona on loan from Fenerbahce, a move that looked, at the time, like a smart step into one of Europe’s most watchable sides. It never got going. He failed to make a single appearance and left Montilivi in January, his loan cut short.

The irony? His replacement in that Girona squad was Marc-Andre ter Stegen, now Barcelona’s captain and the reference point for any goalkeeper walking into the club.

That Girona chapter will not feature in any highlight reel, but Barcelona are clearly looking beyond that false start. They are betting instead on the goalkeeper who shone on the biggest international stage and has years of top-level experience behind him.

For now, the message from inside the club is consistent: talks with Fenerbahce are advanced and progressing, but no final agreement has been signed, despite more definitive claims coming out of Croatia.

Barcelona have their long-term goalkeeper in Joan Garcia. They believe they have found his ideal partner in Dominik Livakovic. What remains is the decision that will shape his next season – and perhaps the next phase of Barcelona’s goalkeeping hierarchy.