Why Raiola doesn't want Haaland to move to Man Utd

Stefan Bienkowski

• 10 Dec 2021 16:05 GMT
• 6 min read

Whenever Mino Raiola talks, football clubs around Europe tend to sit up, listen and then take notes accordingly.

Unfortunately for Manchester United, the super agent was giving all the wrong impressions on Friday, when he spoke to German broadcasters Sport1 about the future of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.

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Among a number of intriguing answers, Raiola suggested that there were a number of large clubs that could prove to be an enticing destination for the towering striker next season. But Man Utd didn’t seem to be one of them.

So what’s behind the agent’s reasoning for omitting Man Utd from the list of potential buyers next summer?

Man Utd aren’t very good

What was perhaps most telling about Raiola’s comments was the manner in which he highlighted Manchester City’s success and compared it to Man Utd’s lack of silverware in recent seasons.

When asked about which clubs could bid for Haaland in the upcoming summer transfer window, the super agent said: “He can and will take the next step. Bayern, Real, Barcelona, City - these are the big clubs he can go to.

“City have won the championship five times in the last few years, much more than United. We all knew when we moved to Dortmund that this step would come.”

And while Raiola may have been acting out a little, the agent certainly had a point. Man Utd haven’t won the Premier League since 2013, the Champions League since 2008 and their last major trophy was the FA Cup almost five years ago. That isn’t exactly an enticing offer for one of the best players in the world.

They already have enough forwards

Another reason why Raiola may have ruled out Man Utd for his star striker is because the club already have far too many forwards to begin with.

At last count, Ralf Rangnick had no less than six players to choose from that could play in Haaland’s No.9 position this season.

Even if the club are able to sell Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani, that still leaves Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Cristiano Ronaldo fighting for one or two spots with Haaland, if he were to make the move to Old Trafford. Which isn’t ideal at all.

He’s been burned by the Pogba saga

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to Man Utd signing a Raiola player is the fact that they’re currently still trying to convince a current client of the super agent to stick around at Old Trafford, in the form of Paul Pogba.

Raiola has confirmed that the English club have already offered Pogba a new contract but has also spent the last 12 months wasting no opportunity to take a dig at the club and the manner in which they have looked after his player.

If Pogba couldn’t find much love at Man Utd, why would Raiola advise Haaland to move there and potentially make the same mistake?