NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Manchester United have rejected Erling Haaland’s move at several events, as former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has new details behind the scenes.
Haaland is one of the most productive strikers in world football and helped Manchester City win a historic treble last season, scoring 52 goals in 53 games.
It is the Norwegian international’s first crusade at the Etihad after arriving from Borussia Dortmund on a deal initially valued at £51m.
Haaland has been back in good form this season, scoring 28 goals and providing six assists in 31 appearances, and his price tag has risen.
Solskjaer has explained in the past that he tried to sell Haaland to United for just £4m while he was manager of Norwegian side Molde, but “they didn’t listen to him”.
In a new interview on The Overlap, Solskjaer has now told a story about how he tried to bring Haaland to Old Trafford, this time while he was caretaker United manager following Haaland’s move from Molde to Red Bull Salzburg.
Solskjaer claims United may have signed Haaland for just €20m due to a release clause in his contract at the time, but the club once snubbed him.
“I had him [Erling Haaland] at Molde for two seasons,” Solskjaer said. “The summer before I came here [to sign for Manchester United], I called the club and said, ‘You want to sign this guy. ‘It’s going to be the most sensible class. “
“It was June/July 2018 and they said no, they had enough reports on the players. Then I became interim manager [at United] and we sold Haaland to RB Salzburg.
“I tell the club to buy him as long as he has a release clause. We knew it at the time and no one else would have paid that money; €20 million would have been a smart deal.
“Even with his links with Alfie [Haaland], Manchester City and Leeds. So the club’s decision is not to go through it.
“We never made any offer or put him forward until he started scoring for Salzburg. At that time, Borussia Dortmund were there, Juventus were there, everyone was there. His release clause was still valid at the time: €60 million.
“He’s been given so much more than just being a smart kid. He’s a team player, and one-on-one with a goalkeeper, he doesn’t think about his own stats. It’s going to happen if someone else passes by and it’s going to happen. “Be a hundred-dollar goal consistent with penny. It’s a gem.
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