Why Haaland rejected Man Utd to sign for Man City
Robin Bairner
- 10 May 2022 04:00 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United are one of a number of clubs that were left disappointing by Erling Haaland’s decision to transfer to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund.
The Norway international is set to leave the Bundesliga side for a fee of around €75 million to sign with the Etihad Stadium outfit, with the deal expected to be made official before the weekend so Haaland can say his farewells to the BVB fans.
He was a player that every elite club in Europe was after, including Man Utd, and it is becoming clear why he elected to sign for the Etihad outfit ahead of a move to Old Trafford.
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The Telegraph has lifted the lid on exactly why the Red Devils were dismissed as an option for the 21-year-old, who has scored 85 goals in 88 games for Dortmund.
It is reported that Haaland simply did not feel that Man Utd are in a strong enough place to match his sporting ambitions. Although the Red Devils are financially powerful and able to match his financial demands, their woeful recent run of form has seen their attractiveness diminish and cost them the opportunity of one of the generation’s brightest talents.
Man Utd losing their attractiveness
The last major honour that the club won was the 2016/17 League Cup, while they have not picked up the Premier League trophy since Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012/13 season.
Unfortunately, this could be a consistent theme for Erik ten Hag’s future side in the summer. A seventh-place finish in the Premier League is the best that they can achieve, while they have experienced a campaign that has been record breaking for all the wrong reasons.
While the club’s finances are unlikely to waver significantly, Ten Hag must get things right this season or else Man Utd are likely to see their reputation dimmish further and make it even harder to land elite players such as Haaland.
