Manchester United’s inability to secure the signing of Erling Haaland continues to weigh heavily on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. THE ATHLETICNG reports.
The global superstar, now at Manchester City, could have been wearing the red of Manchester United, but destiny had other plans.
Solskjaer, who coached Manchester United for three years, revealed how he had alerted the Red Devils’ owners to Haaland’s talent during his time at Molde.
Manchester United had the chance to acquire Haaland for a mere €8 million, but their hesitation allowed him to slip away.
In an interview with Overlap, as reported by EuroFoot, Solskjaer said, “I had Haaland at Molde for two seasons. The summer before I arrived here (at Man United), I contacted the club and urged them to sign this boy. I was convinced he would become top-class.”
“However, the club declined in June or July 2018, citing they had sufficient player reports,” Solskjaer revealed.
“Then, when I became the caretaker manager, Molde had sold Haaland to RB Salzburg for just €8m. I immediately advised the club to sign him while he still had a release clause. We knew then that nobody else would pay that amount – €20m would have been a bargain. However, the decision was made by the club not to pursue it at that time.”
“We didn’t make any offers or pursue him until after he started scoring for Salzburg. By then, everyone else was already interested. His release clause at that point was still reasonable – €60m.”
Unfortunately for Manchester United, by the time they showed serious interest, his price had skyrocketed to €60 million, making it too late for them to secure his signature.
