Erling Haaland: Manchester United were never on shortlist for my summer move

The process that led to Haaland signing for Manchester City, United’s local rivals, has been laid bare in the documentary Haaland - The Big Decision, which was aired this month on Viaplay, the Scandinavian streaming service.

Alfie Haaland reveals that he and his son devised a points system based on certain criteria, such as whether the club needed to buy a No 9, to rank the centre forward’s suitors. By the end of February, seven clubs were in the running to sign the Borussia Dortmund man. United were not one of them.

“On our list, I think City is the best team,” Alfie said in the film, a few months before his son made his decision. “[Bayern] Munich is number two. We have Real Madrid as number three, Paris Saint-Germain as number four.

“We also have some English teams other than City who are quite good … Liverpool and Chelsea. Also, there is Barcelona. They are sort of in the same row.”

That United did not come into Haaland’s thinking does not reflect well on the 20-times English champions, who play City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who coached a teenage Haaland at Molde, tried to sign the striker for United when he left Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020, but the club pulled out of the race after refusing to accept the pounds 51 million release clause that was then inserted into his Dortmund contract.

In the documentary Haaland said that the manager of his next club was not the biggest factor when choosing his destination.

“I have never transferred to a club because of the manager,” Haaland said, “but it is a big plus with [Pep] Guardiola at City - he is the best manager in the world.”

Other criteria included the club’s playing style, their history and stadium capacity. The rankings were updated regularly last season and in the final standings City only just finished ahead of the second-ranked team, which is understood to have been Real Madrid. “I think it was one point separating the top two with the last calculations,” Alfie Haaland said.

The fact that City needed to sign a striker and the uncertainty over Robert Lewandowski’s future at Bayern Munich also had an impact on Haaland’s decision, as did the transfer uncertainty over Kylian Mbappe.

“One of the criteria is about whether the club needs a No 9,” Alfie Haaland said in the spring. “City are ten [out of ten] in that respect. Bayern Munich gets one point for that, they don’t need a No 9. They have their best player as a No 9, but if he [Lewandowski] goes, then they have no one else.

“It would have been quite controversial to go to Munich but when we go through it, they are one of the best teams. Real Madrid are a five or six [out of ten]. They have [Karim] Benzema, and will they get Mbappe?”

Haaland speaks of the angst of knowing that his decision will have a huge bearing on his career. “Sometimes I struggle to sleep because I am thinking about it,” he said.

In the second week of April, Haaland chose City, describing the club as “the best sporting project in the world right now … it’s where I think I’ll do the best”.

A year earlier, when City played Dortmund in the Champions League quarter-finals, many members of Guardiola’s squad encouraged the Norway striker to move to the Etihad. “After the game, I think 15 people said I should come,” he said. “[John] Stones and Ruben Dias, [Ilkay] Gundogan, [Phil] Foden and [Kevin] De Bruyne.” Haaland has scored 14 goals in his first nine games for City and has settled in well with his new teammates. How long he hangs around is yet to be determined, though. The forward has signed a five-year deal, but it is understood that a release clause can be activated at a certain stage of his contract.

His father admits that Haaland wants to play in several countries before he retires: “I think Erling wants to test out his capabilities in every league. Then he can stay in every league for three to four years maximum.

“He could have 2 and a half years in Germany, 2 and a half in England, and then in Spain, Italy, France, right?” he added, with a laugh. “We do not know if it will be like that, but I think he would like to test his abilities in the big leagues.”

The striker denied that he moved to City because they offered him the highest salary but he conceded that money is an important part of his life.

“When I was a young boy, like everyone, I dreamt about becoming the best footballer in the world and making a living off it,” Haaland, who earns about pounds 400,000 per week, said. “Now I do. I think money is important for everyone in this world.

“That is not the main focus, but you would like to make as much as possible. If you can get 5,000 Norwegian krone (about pounds 420) to do a job or 10,000 to do the same job, you take the 10,000.”

-The Times

Originally published as Erling Haaland: Manchester United were never on shortlist for my summer move