Barcelona president Joan Laporta is ready to join the battle for unsettled Liverpool striker Fernando Torres.

The Mail on Sunday says the Spain striker will be the summer's biggest transfer when he moves for a fee that could come close to the £80m deal that took Cristiano Ronaldo to Real a year ago.

Although they were in a position to outbid any rival club, Manchester City's failure to win a European Cup place has ruled them out, leaving Chelsea and Barcelona as the only two possible competitors for his signature.

Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell has pledged that should he succeed his former friend and now fierce rival Joan Laporta, he will move to entice Torres and Cesc Fabregas to the Nou Camp.

But he made similar noises about David Beckham in 2003 and Barcelona would need to shift disappointing Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic to take the Liverpool striker back to Spain.