Manchester United were one hour away from signing this world class player

Man United almost changed the footballing landscape by nearly signing one of the worlds best

16/01/2024, 07:37 PM +00:00

The Red Devils were so close to securing the services of this ballon dor contender

What if. The two words that cause the most pain in football. What if Ronaldinho signed for Manchester United instead of Barcelona? What if Cristiano Ronaldo went to Arsenal? Manchester United are no strangers when it comes to what ifs, yet there is one what if in recent times that could have changed the landscape of football in Manchester completely.

In the past decade there has been a shift in the tides of Manchester when it comes to football and the tides have never been more towards the blue side as Manchester City equaled Manchester United’s greatest achievement by accomplishing the continental treble. A big reason for that treble was the arrival of superstar striker Erling Haaland who set the Premier League on fire and broke the goalscoring record with ease. Yet Erling Haaland five years ago was one hour away from being signed by the Red Devils of Manchester.

Senior Scout Bryan King talked about the move that never happened in an interview with Football Insider. King said “He said that if the call is not in by 10 o’clock, then Haaland will go to Salzburg. The people at United who made the call made it an hour late. They should have rung at nine but they rang at 10, which is 11 in Norway.”

Over the last there have been serious questions raised about United when it comes to the transfer market and recruitment, and this what if scenario is the epitome of the critiques. Their chief scout at Scandinavia had set up a perfect no risk deal to sign a young striker and United hesitated. The one-hour hesitation is now winning for the neighbors across the road. To make matters worse, Ole Gunnar Solskjær was Molde manager at the time, and he would move to United later that December. It had been set up with the perfect scenario, of a club legend in Ole to continue managing and overseeing Haaland development.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær on bringing Haaland to United

“I got in contact with United because we had this talented striker who they should have had,” said Solskjær. “But they didn’t listen, unfortunately. Four million, I asked for. But they never signed him. Four million! Don’t ask (where he is now). He’s too good…”