Erling Haaland has admitted that he felt sorry for fellow striker Robert Lewandowski when Bayern Munich tried to beat Manchester City to signing the Norwegian earlier this year.
City eventually won the race to sign Haaland, activating his £51m release clause in May, but they faced stiff competition from a host of other top European sides. Real Madrid were the favourites to sign the young striker, but German champions Bayern Munich also tried their luck at persuading Haaland to join them.
Haaland scored 86 goals in 89 appearances for German side Borussia Dortmund, meaning Bayern had two-and-a-half years to see first-hand just how good Haaland was.
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Speaking in a new documentary about his summer transfer to City titled - Haaland: The Big Decision - Erling and his father Alfie have revealed that Bayern did try to sign the goal-scorer, but that the former found the Bavarian club's behaviour a little disrespectful to then-Bayern attacker Lewandowski.
"If I try to imagine how Lewandowski thinks... I don't know how many goals and titles he has for the club," Haaland Junior said. "Then I do actually feel a little sorry for him. At the same time it's a chance for him to take the next step in his career. It feels disrespectful, but at the same time it is an opportunity for him."
"They have shown interest, they have," Alfie said of Bayern. "I understand that they want to protect themselves. If he doesn't end up there they will say 'it was never on the agenda, we already have the best striker."
Ultimately Haaland joined City, and a couple of months later Lewandowski did indeed take the next step in his career. After months of speculation the Polish striker publicly stated his desire to leave Bayern after eight years in Bavaria, and in the end he joined Barcelona.
Both had enjoyed fruitful starts to life at their new clubs; Haaland has scored 10 goals in six league outings for City, while Lewandowski has found the net five times in four games.
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