Erling Haaland Informed Man Utd of ‘Desire’ to Join Club Prior to Borussia Dortmund Switch

Erling Haaland is said to have informed Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward of his desire to join the club before changing his mind ​and opting to join Borussia Dortmund instead. 

Haaland attracted interest from a number of European football’s biggest clubs after a devastating start to the season with Red Bull Salzburg saw him net eight goals in just six Champions League group stage appearances.

Erling Haland

One club he was persistently linked with a move to was Man Utd but, ultimately, a deal failed to materialise. In the end, Leeds-born Haaland secured a move to Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund, where he has been in phenomenal form.

Now, ​The Athletic suggest that Haaland actually ‘informed’ United boss Solskjaer, who managed the striker during his time at Molde, as well as Woodward, of his desire to join the Premier League giants when the pair flew to Salzburg on December 13 of last year.

However, the report claims that the 19-year-old ‘changed his mind’ and opted to move to the Bundesliga instead. The Athletic further add that the Red Devils’ inability to offer ​Champions League football played ‘a bigger factor’ in Haaland’s decision to snub Manchester for Germany than has been appreciated. 

Erling Haaland

Following his switch, it was revealed that it wasn’t Haaland’s lack of desire to join ​Man Utd that caused the move to fall through. Instead, the ​club refused to meet the demands of super agent Mino Raiola, who has ​once again grabbed the headlines following his recent comments regarding the future of Paul Pogba. 

Regarding Haaland’s failed Manchester United move, what is clear is that the Old Trafford side’s loss is most certainly ​Borussia Dortmund’s gain. 

The Norwegian has made seven appearances for BVB since joining in January and he already has 11 goals to his name. Moreover, while this is a stunning return, it is made all the more impressive when considering the fact that he has only played 440 minutes of action so far in all competitions.


Most recently, Haaland starred as ​Dortmund earned a narrow 2-1 first leg win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. The youngster scored twice and, as a result, he is now the joint-top goalscorer in the competition on ten goals.

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