Haaland, Eden Hazard and the Players Man United Almost Signed After Solskjaer’s Comments

• Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham could have been Manchester United players
• Former boss Ole Gunnar Solskajer has admitted there were internal transfer talks
• Sports Brief takes a look at other players who almost joined Manchester United

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made some eye-opening admissions about his time as Manchester United's manager.

The club legend was initially drafted in on an interim capacity to replace the sacked Jose Mourinho, but after impressing, he was handed a full-time contract.

His three years at the Old Trafford hot seat was characterised by extreme highs and lows, including a Europa League final loss in 2021.

Speaking on the Overlap Podcast hosted by Gary Neville. the Norwegian disclosed the nitty-gritty of how the Red Devils conducted their transfer business during his time at the club.

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Solskjaer divulged that he offered Erling Haaland to the club twice but was turned down. He coached the budding striker during his days at Molde. Jude Bellingham also made the trip to United's offices and, despite meeting Sir Alex Ferguson and other legends, opted not to sign for the club.

"We all spoke to him and sold it as well as we could. He knew what he wanted - a certain amount of minutes in the first team. He was 17 at the time, and he was the most mature 17-year-old I've ever met – he had it all planned out."

Players who almost joined Manchester United

In light of these comments, Sports Brief has compiled a list of players who almost joined Manchester United but didn't.

1. Ronaldinho

Sir Alex Ferguson had set his sights on the Brazilian after he had starred in eliminating England at the 2002 World Cup. He, however, couldn't convince him to move to Old Trafford when Barcelona came calling for him in 2003.

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Luckily for them, the Red Devils did get a young Cristiano Ronaldo at that time, which didn't work out too badly.

2. Eden Hazard

While appearing on John Obi-Mikel's podcast, the retired Belgian admitted that Chelsea wasn't his first choice when he decided to leave Lille in 2012. He had a chat with Ferguson, among other clubs, as he weighed his options.

The Blues had a poor season in the league and were destined to miss out on the Champions League spots. But after Didider Drogba led them to their maiden victory against Bayern Munich, Hazard changed his mind and 'signed for the Champions League winner.'

3. Wesley Sneijder

Ferguson has in the past dismissed claims that he wanted to sign the Dutch midfielder. There were intensified rumours in 2011 after the South Africa World Cup and Inter Milan's treble the year earlier that he would move to England.

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"Well, actually, I was close in 2011. I asked my manager, 'What happened with United?' and he said, 'No, nothing, it's over'. But two years later, I discovered he asked for extra money for himself. So that's why the deal was over," as captured by MEN.

4. Manuel Neuer

When Edwin van de Sar left the club in 2011, Ferguson wanted to replace him with Manuel Neuer. The goalkeeping coach, Eric Steele, however, declined to approve the decision, asking the club to go for David de Gea instead.

"My problem was Eric because he was adamant that we must take De Gea. I said, 'But Eric, the boy Neuer is the complete unit; he's mature, his physique is unbelievable', and he says, 'Yeah, but in three years, De Gea will be better."

5. Toni Kroos

Tono Kroos admitted in 2014 that he had a deal to move to the Theatre of Dreams in 2014, but his plans changed after David Moyes was sacked.

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"David Moyes had come to see me and the contract had basically been done, but then Moyes was fired, and Louis van Gaal came in, which complicated matters," he told the Atheltic.

Other mentions

Michael Essien, John Obi-Mikel, Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey are the other players who almost moved to Manchester United but ended up signing for another club.

Solskjaer talks about Cristiano Ronaldo

Sports Brief has also reported on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's reflections on Cristiano Ronaldo's second stint at the club. Ronaldo made a dramatic return to England in 2021, a transfer that did not work for either party.

Solskjaer was sacked that season, while Ronaldo fell out with his predecessor, Erik ten Hag, in late 2022, leading to his contract being terminated.