Laudrup welcomes Barca and Marseille talk

Michael Laudrup has welcomed being linked with Barcelona and Marseille and vowed not to let a dispute with Swansea City stall his career.

The Dane has been out of work since being sacked by Swansea last month and is still to reach an agreement with the Premier League club over compensation.

The former Barcelona midfielder has been touted as a possible replacement for Gerardo Martino at Camp Nou at the end of the season, although the Argentine stated on Tuesday that he will not walk away from the Catalan giants.

Laudrup has also been mentioned as a potential candidate to take over at Marseille when interim coach Jose Anigo steps down at the end of the current campaign.

Speaking in Malaysia ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards, Laudrup revealed that he would not pass up the right offer even if his wrangling with Swansea remained unresolved.

He said: “No. If that (coming to an agreement with Swansea) takes 18 months, why should I wait?

“It doesn’t really change a lot to me. I don’t want to mix up those two things. One has nothing to do with the other.

“Whatever happens there, however it ends, if it goes to court, I can still take a job tomorrow if I want to. That doesn’t change.”

When asked specifically about the Barcelona job, Laudrup said: “That is just saying things, it’s always positive when you are mentioned (as a contender for a big job), but five or six names are always mentioned. Maybe in a month’s time some of those names change.

“It’s always positive when you are mentioned, but let’s take it for what it is.”

On reports linking him with the top job at Camp Nou, he added: “I did not hear about that – well, I heard about it but not like that.

“We have eight, nine games to go – at this stage of the season nobody in football is looking to change. That happens just after the last games. The last two weeks and before the World Cup, that might be when things start to happen.”