Erling Haaland became one of the world’s deadliest strikers at Manchester City, but his career could have been very different according to former Juventus CEO Guiseppe Marotta.
Haaland’s rise to prominence in his native Norway attracted the attention of Europe’s top clubs as he progressed through the youth ranks at Molde, before joining RB Salzburg in 2019.
His reputation as an incredible goalscorer put teams on red alert, with Borussia Dortmund winning the race to sign him, ahead of Real Madrid in 2020.
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After scoring a ridiculous 86 goals in 89 games for Dortmund, his path seemed to be headed towards Manchester or Madrid and he opted for the former.
However, despite his final decision to join Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions, Marotta has revealed he was close to bringing him to Italy during his time in Turin.
“It’s true, we were offered him when he was still in Norway. He was only 15 and we invited him to Juventus against Inter. We were very close, then administrative problems came to disrupt his path,” he said in an interview with Sky Sport Italy via Tuttosport.
Marotta’s comments highlight just how fierce the battle to sign Haaland was even before his first-team debut for Molde.
The 67-year-old, who swapped the top job at Juventus for the same role at Inter Milan in 2018, was speaking ahead of the 0-0 UEFA Champions League draw against Serie A champions City.
Haaland was hampered by Inter veteran Francesco Acerbi in the first competitive game he has failed to score this season
