Erling Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola admits he ‘maybe was too careful’ in moving him to Borussia Dortmund when he rejected Manchester United, as £154m star awaits his next big move with Old Trafford an option again
- Erling Haaland looks increasingly likely to leave Borussia Dortmund this summer
- His agent, Mino Raiola, conceded he was ‘too careful’ in moving him to Germany
- Haaland has developed rapidly into one of the world’s most in-demand strikers
- Real Madrid, Chelsea and both Manchester clubs are expected to battle for him
- Reports this week said Dortmund had set a price tag of £154million for Haaland
Super agent Mino Raiola has admitted he was ‘maybe too careful’ in moving Erling Haaland to Borussia Dortmund last year with the Norwegian striker now the most in-demand player in world football.
The race to secure Haaland’s signature is set to dominate the summer transfer window with Real Madrid, Chelsea and both Manchester clubs expected to compete fiercely to recruit him.
Haaland, who has scored 33 goals in 31 appearances this season, has continued his meteoric rise with Dortmund in the Bundesliga after a stunning breakthrough with Red Bull Salzburg last season.
Mino Raiola has admitted he was ‘maybe too careful’ in moving Erling Haaland to Dortmund
Raiola will lead negotiations with several clubs in what is expected to be a fierce battle for Haaland’s signature this summer
Before joining Dortmund in January 2020, Haaland and agent Raiola turned down the chance to reunite the player with his former Molde boss Ole Gunner Solskjaer at Old Trafford.
But United are set to come back in for Haaland this summer and Raiola admitted that he was ‘maybe too careful’ in selling his client to Dortmund where his development has been so quick.
Speaking to The Athletic, Raiola said: ‘With Haaland, everybody was wrong. He did things much quicker than everybody imagined.
‘Haaland is in front of his own development. He is ahead of his own schedule. Maybe I was too careful when I said, “Oh no, let’s move to Dortmund instead of I-don’t-know-where”.
‘This boy — I’m 100 per cent convinced and everybody’s convinced — can move to any club, wherever he wants, already on this level. And he could have done that last year.
‘But maybe last year there were still teams (saying), “Oh, he was in Red Bull (Salzburg), can he do it in another club?”.
‘He is quicker than his own prediction. So yeah, Haaland is the talk of the town.’
Haaland turned down Manchester United last year but the Red Devils are still interested in him
Previous negotiations between United and Haaland’s representatives collapsed after the Premier League giants refused to meet their demands.
It is understood Dortmund agreed to give Raiola and the player’s father Alf-Inge Haaland a significant share of the 19-year-old player’s future sales value, which the hierarchy at Old Trafford were reticent to sanction.
But in December 2019, Raiola insisted it was Haaland who rejected the advances of United after the Red Devils blamed the agent for the deal collapsing.
‘I do not know if Manchester United are briefing this but if they are then they are covering their own loss and that I find strange and disappointing,’ Raiola told The Telegraph.
‘There was no fall-out between me and (United executive vice-chairman) Ed Woodward. It was just a normal negotiation and the player has chosen a different path.
‘If they want to blame someone then, fine, blame me but the player is happy. He has made his choice and we went through a normal process.’
Haaland, on Norway duty at present, has scored 33 goals in 31 appearances this season
Reports earlier this week said Dortmund had set a price tag of £154million for clubs to pay if they want Haaland this summer as they look to ward off attempts to sign their star striker.
Any move for Haaland would also have to see United soften their reluctance to work with Raiola, who has been problematic in recent months with his posturing over the future of another of his clients in Paul Pogba.
Manchester City are also desperate to land Haaland and have reportedly made him their No 1 target to replace Sergio Aguero, who will leave the club this summer.
The Sun claim Haaland is top of a list of replacements for the Argentine legend with Tottenham forward and England captain Harry Kane another option for Pep Guardiola.
Haaland is currently on international duty with Norway and has started both of their World Cup qualifying gams against Gibraltar and Turkey so far. They are next in action against Montenegro on Tuesday night.
