MINO RAIOLA reckons he may have been ‘too careful’ with his decision to move Erling Haaland to Borussia Dortmund.
The Norwegian striker joined the German giants in January 2020 from Austrian outfit Red Bull Salzburg.
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A number of Europe’s elite clubs were interested in signing the 20-year-old, including Premier League big boys Manchester United.
But Raiola opted against moving the hitman on to one of Europe’s big boys in order to further his progression, a decision he somewhat regrets given how prolific he’s been since joining Dortmund.
He told The Athletic: “With Haaland, everybody was wrong. He did things much quicker than everybody imagined.
“‘Haaland is in front of his own development. He is ahead of his own schedule.
“Maybe I was too careful when I said, ‘Oh no, let’s move to Dortmund instead of I-don’t-know-where.'”
Haaland has been in red-hot form during his brief stint with the German club, lighting up the Bundesliga and the Champions League.
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A whopping 49 goals in 49 appearances have made the youngster the most sought-after player on the planet.
And Raiola believes his client is capable of performing week-in-week-out for the best teams in the world.
He continued: “This boy — I’m 100 per cent convinced and everybody’s convinced — can move to any club, wherever he wants, already on this level. And he could have done that last year.
“But maybe last year there were still teams (saying), ‘Oh, he was in Red Bull [Salzburg], can he do it in another club?’.
“He is quicker than his own prediction. So yeah, Haaland is the talk of the town.”
Despite missing out on his signature, Manchester United are understood to still be interested in acquiring Haaland’s services.
But they’ll have to battle with Spanish big boys Barcelona and Real Madrid, who recently held talks with Raiola.
Raiola is also set to meet with representatives from Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool.
Haaland and his Dortmund team-mates will be back in action on Tuesday night, travelling to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
