Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was clear on one thing when rumors of Manchester United's supposed signing of Erling Haaland started circulating - the Red Devils will not deal exclusively with Mino Raiola, the teen striker's agent. It appeared Solskjaer kept his word - he rejected demands made by Raiola and Haaland ended up joining Borussia Dortmund.
The transfer of Haaland from the Red Bull Salzburg was confirmed on Sunday by the receiving team, which will pay the Norwegian teenager £17 million for a contract that will expire in 2024.
"Borussia Dortmund have completed the signing of Erling Braut Håland from @RedBullSalzburg on a contract until 2024," Metro reported the German club's social media post as saying.
Prior to the signing, there was a mad scramble to land the prolific goalscorer, who in the season so far has appeared in 22 games and registered 28 goals. Salzburg's sister team, RB Leipzig, was thought to have an edge, but it was United, which emerged the frontrunner due to the teen's previous connection with Solskjaer.
The two were with Molde in Norway, and there were suggestions Haaland was inclined to relive that experience and work with the Norwegian legend again. United even confirmed that Solskjaer and other club executives met with Haaland's camp, presumably to discuss the details of the player's coming to Old Trafford.
In the past days, however, speculations surfaced that Haaland will not be joining the Red Devils after all and instead go to Italian giants Juventus. Supposedly, this was an arrangement of Raiola, the same man that Solskjaer has refused to deal with.
It turned out that Raiola indeed was operating to move Haaland out of Austria, and United was indeed on the shortlist. It might have been a done deal that Raiola had arranged for both parties, but it can be said that Manchester backed out at the last minute, according to Manchester Evening News.
"Manchester United pulled out of a move for Erling Haaland after they refused to agree to a buyout clause and percentage of future sales ... The player's representatives, including Mino Raiola, wanted to secure a share from future sales of the Norwegian striker as part of the transfer," the report claimed.
It dawned on the United executives that if they agreed on the deal, it would be Raiola, who will have the big say in the future dealings concerning Haaland, which the club has described as a setup that is "bad for the industry."
Metro said it was deemed best by the United hierarchy to pull the plug on the deal and use the fund instead of in the development of talents already with the club and future acquisitions. One player that convinced the club of existing gems is that of Mason Greenwood, who at 18 has impressed both the United board and Solskjaer.
