Why Ed Woodward pulled the plug on Man United’s Erling Haaland move

Woodward decided against United's move to Haaland

Erling Haaland was strongly linked with a move to Manchester United prior to joining Borussia Dortmund in January 2020. Were it not for Ed Woodward, he may have sealed a switch to Old Trafford instead of the Bundesliga club. Haaland had left Molde FK to join Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2019. His prolific goalscoring in the Champions League group stages quickly turned heads at some of the continent's top clubs, and it soon became clear he would be leaving Austria a matter of months after his arrival.

Solskjaer was keen to be reunited with Haaland at United

United seemed well placed to strike a deal, with then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer working with Haaland during his time as Molde boss. According to ESPN, Solskjaer had met Haaland in December 2019, believing he had reached an agreement with the Leeds-born striker to join him in Manchester the following month. However, reluctant to pay the agent fees attached to the deal and deterred by the eagerness of Haaland's camp to add a release clause, Woodward pulled the plug on a €20m deal. Haaland joined Dortmund, where his free-scoring run continued.

Solskjaer 'frustrated' at failure to sign Haaland

The same report claimed Solskjaer was left frustrated by the failure to land the striker, believing a move still made financial and sporting sense for United. Although he harboured hopes that a deal for Haaland could be resurrected in the future, Solskjaer left United in November 2021 after a poor run of results. Woodward left his position as United's executive vice-chairman in February 2022 after announcing his intention to step down in the fallout from the collapse of the European Super League. By that point, Haaland was being strongly linked with a move to Manchester City, who his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, played for towards the end of his career. Sure enough, at the end of the 2021/22 season - just after Pep Guardiola's side had retained their Premier League title - it was announced that City had agreed a deal with Borussia Dortmund to take him to the Etihad. According to reports, Haaland's contract at City also contained a release clause which would only become active in the third year of his contract. Related links:

• Erling Haaland on why he studied ‘best in the world’ Jamie Vardy
• Man City agree £500,000-a-week deal with Erling Haaland representatives
• Borussia Dortmund advisor ‘passed out’ after hearing reported Man City deal for Erling Haaland