Haaland calls ‘greed’ label comical after United talks

ERLING Haaland says any suggestion he demanded too much money from United is ‘comical’ as he spoke about why he chose to join Borussia Dortmund last month.

Haaland, 19, opted to sign for the German side at the start of January for 20m euro after catching the eye of Europe’s biggest clubs due to his form for RB Salzburg.

Since joining Dortmund, he has scored eight goals in just five appearances, taking his season total to 36 goals in 27 games.

United were in talks with Haaland, but pulled out of the deal after they refused to agree to a buyout clause and percentage of future sales.

M.E.N. Sport reported at the time the player’s representatives, including Mino Raiola, wanted to secure a share from future sales of the Norwegian striker as part of the transfer. United, therefore, withdrew from the deal.

Now, Haaland has spoken to Viasport about how his move to Dortmund came about and explained how he owes plenty of gratitude to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

“The process was pretty simple on my end,” he explained.

“[I] just really played football and wasn’t very involved until the first half of the season was over. So I didn’t have much to do with it to be honest. The process was to find the best possible club for me.

“Ole Gunnar has been very important for me in getting to where I am today. But we concluded that Dortmund was the best option for me. That was where I felt best about and therefore it became Dortmund.”

Haaland was then asked about the claims his representatives were ‘greedy’ in their demands during talks with United, offering a stern denial of any such suggestion.

“No, it’s the guys writing would have to speak to that,” he said. “They’ll have to explain it to me if they meet me. It’s not my focus, whatsoever.

“It’s kind of comical if I were to get that label. All the people closest to me know that’s not the kind of person I am. It’s really been kind of comical.”

Haaland then reserved praise for Raiola’s role in his transfer, adding: “He’s the best in the world at what he does, as simple as that. He’s the best agent.”