Manchester United: The real reason United missed out on Haaland

Manchester United desperately wanted to sign the sensational Norwegian forward but the deal fell through because of a major issue.

For the past couple of weeks the torrent of Erling Haaland rumours were endless. At one point Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was rumoured to have travelled to Salzburg to meet with the player, at another point there were speculations about Erling Haaland visiting Manchester and negotiating with United. The merry go round was perpetual and at least United fans will get some relief that it is finally about to end.

On paper, Erling Haaland looked destined to sign for the Red Devils. Not only does he posses the prolific goalscoring prowess Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate to add to his team, Erling Haaland also had that ‘special connection’ with the current Manchester United boss. After all, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the man who first gave Erling Haaland a chance to shine in senior football when the United boss handed Haaland his debut whilst the pair of them were at Molde together.

Even then at 17 years of age, Erling Haaland was a major talent and with Solskjaer helping to hone Haaland’s skills, it seemed only fitting that the pair would have reunited once again so that Solskjaer could guide Haaland as he made the next step in his career.

However, unfortunately the idyllic fairy tale never became a reality.

And the stumbling block in Erling Haaland’s move to Manchester United is purported to have been an old foe in football agent Mino Raiola. According to Rob Dawson of ESPN via 90min.com it was the demand of Haaland’s agent of a ‘buyout clause’ and a ‘percentage of a future sale’ which the club did not agree to.

Mino Raiola is also the agent of Paul Pogba who has made huge demands to the Manchester United board in the past and it seems he has once again proved to be the thorn in Manchester United’s side.

The news that a deal was so close and hinged only on hefty demands by Haaland’s agent will come as a bitter pill to swallow for Manchester United fans. However it seems the club already have an alternative lined-up.

What do you think will Manchester United regret missing out on Erling Haaland?