RB Salzburg wonderkid Erling Braut Haaland was officially confirmed as a Borussia Dortmund signee on Sunday after being heavily linked with a move to Manchester United in recent time. In wake of the new development, a report that has surfaced suggest that there were a some forces at play following the teenager's decision to snub the Red Devils in favor signing a four-and-a-half deal with Die BVB.
It is not much of a secret that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were keen on securing a deal for Haaland having frequently scouted him during his time with RB Salzburg. The Old Trafford were as a result tipped as front-runners in the race for the youngster with an potential move predicted to happen in the winter transfer window.
Nevertheless, the initial belief held by many failed to come to pass with Dortmund staging a coup for the signature of Haaland. According to ESPN, that was not until Manchester United pulled the plug during negotitions as a result of a number of unfavorable factors.
Firstly, ESPN claimed that the Red Devils refused to budge to Mino Raiola's demand of Haaland having a release clause inserted in his contract while wanting a possible share of a future sell-on as well. In the case of the former, Haaland and his entourage will hold all the leverage if only he continued improving.
Also, the commission that was demanded by the Norweigian striker's advisors - including his father, Alf Inge Haaland - proved to be off-putting for Manchester United. As per Gazzetta dello Sport, the player's dad is getting a €10 million commission from Dortmund, while Raiola also earned €15 million for himself. Clearly, United were not in favor of handing the pair fat pay-checks, hence the deal failing to materialize.
ESPN further added that the Haaland only wanted to join a club whose manager had no dark cloud hovering over his head and the prospect of Ole GUnnar Solskjaer potentially facing the boot only made Dortmund more appealing to him. And after months of receiving assurances from the heirarchy of the Bundesliga club, he only had to say "yes" when they activated his €20 million release clause.
