Alfie Haaland - Erling Haaland's father - has revealed how he and his son decided that Manchester City was the perfect club to join from the long line of interested suitors. When facing an increasingly uncertain future at Borussia Dortmund, the 22-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea.
Several other top clubs in Europe were said to also be in the queue to sign the Norway international but it was Pep Guardiola's side who secured the striker's signature. City activated a €60million (£51.2m) release clause in Haaland's contract with the German giants after agreeing personal terms with the Premier League champions.
However, persuading the Norwegian to join was not as easy as it seemed on paper. He and his father built a shortlist of interested clubs and then put together a points system to help them decide which club would be best for his future.
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Speaking on the documentary 'Haaland — The Big Decision', which was aired this month on the Scandinavian streaming service Viaplay, Alfie Haaland detailed the process. By February, their list of potential destinations were whittled down to just seven clubs.
"On our list, I think City is the best team," Alfie said in the film, as quoted by The Times, prior to his son reaching a final verdict. "[Bayern] Munich is number two. We have Real Madrid as number three, Paris Saint-Germain as number four.
"We also have some English teams other than City who are quite good," he added. "Liverpool and Chelsea. Also, there is Barcelona. They are sort of in the same row."
In the film, Haaland said that the manager of his next club was not a deciding factor in his decision. At the time, Chelsea were coached by Thomas Tuchel, who famously led the Blues to Champions League glory.
"I have never transferred to a club because of the manager," Haaland said. "But it is a big plus with [Pep] Guardiola at City, he is the best manager in the world."
Alfie Haaland added by revealing further criteria which helped him and his son decide the next club. He said: "One of the criteria is about whether the club needs a No 9.
"City is ten [out of ten] in that respect. Bayern Munich gets one point for that, they don’t need a No 9. They have their best player as a No 9, but if he [Lewandowski] goes, then they have no one else. It would have been quite controversial to go to Munich but when we go through it, it’s one of the best teams. Real Madrid are a five or six [out of ten]. They have [Karim] Benzema, and will they get Mbappé?"
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