Man City star Haaland 'a burden in the dressing room'
FT Desk
- 9 Sept 2022 16:32 BST
- 3 min read
Erling Haaland has hit the ground running at Manchester City since joining from Borussia Dortmund, but his former sporting director has spoken about the Norwegian in less than glowing terms…
Haaland has scored 10 goals in just six Premier League games since arriving at the Etihad in a €60 million transfer from Dortmund, which was first announced in May.
That fee already looks to be an absolute snip for a player who scored 86 goals in 89 games in all competitions with his previous employers.
Three games, three goals. Erling Haaland makes the Premier League look easy.pic.twitter.com/BJTkUPOJQP
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 22, 2022
Dortmund still made a €40m profit on a player they signed from Red Bull Salzburg two years previously - one who smashed a host of goalscoring records - but BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl grew tired of speculation surrounding the forward's future.
"In the end, the Haaland issue became a burden in the locker room," he told Sport Bild. "As much as we always loved Haaland and he was successful with us, in the end, he became a burden on the dressing room, the club and the whole environment.
Kehl: 'transfer right for both parties'
"He had become the subject of every conversation. Outside the club, almost everything was exclusively focused on him. In the end, the timing of the transfer was right for both parties. And we are all happy for Erling that he continues to be so successful."
Haaland was also linked with Real Madrid and Barcelona before settling on Man City as his next step.
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Dortmund replaced him with Sebastien Haller, a €34.5m arrival from Ajax, but the Ivorian's testicular cancer forced them to dip into the market for a second time to sign Anthony Modeste from Cologne.
While Haaland's 10 goals have helped City up to second in the Premier League, Dortmund's top scorer is their two-goal captain Marco Reus, although the side, now under Edin Terzic's management, also sit second in the Bundesliga.
