Erling Haaland came close to joining Manchester United before the move fell apart and now the Norwegian is thriving on the blue side of the city.
The sight of watching the unstoppable Erling Haaland net his sixth hat-trick of the season in the sky blue colours of Manchester City will hurt Manchester United fans for a whole variety of reasons, not least because the clubs are bitter rivals. But also because his path to the Premier League could have been entirely different had the Red Devils not missed their opportunity to bring the powerful striker to Old Trafford in a bargain deal.
Haaland burst onto the scene with Red Bull Salzburg in 2019 after a magnificent Champions League campaign, keeping up with the likes of Robert Lewandowski in his first season playing in the competition.
The Norwegian’s rapid rise saw him become the most coveted talent in Europe as his representatives and father Alf-Inge Haaland – the former City player – weighed up his future. In January 2020, it became apparent that Haaland had outgrown the Austrian club and would be leaving to join an elite club, with United firmly in the mix after agreeing a fee with his club.
Their manager at the time, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, had built a close relationship with Haaland after working with him as a youngster at Molde and reuniting the pair felt like a perfect solution, particularly as United needed a regular goalscorer.
Haaland’s release clause meant he could leave Salzburg for just £17million. However, the caveat of negotiating with Haaland was that he wanted another release clause inserted into his United contract. That, plus exorbitant commission payments to Haaland Sr and agent Mino Raiola on top, convinced United to pull the plug on negotiations.
Later in the same window, it was announced that Haaland had signed for Borussia Dortmund. United perhaps felt vindicated in their decision to withdraw from negotiations, as they were not prepared to let themselves get held to ransom, but there was a feeling of dread that they may have let the world’s most promising striker slip through their fingers.
For the player, there was one person to blame for the breakdown of the move. When asked by United icon Gary Neville in October why he hadn’t joined Solskjaer at Old Trafford, Haaland responded bluntly to Sky Sports: “You have to ask him [Solskjaer].”