"It is a hard decision when you are young.
"I cannot say it was the right decision, or the wrong decision. It is hard for me to say, but what I experienced in the year after Manchester United.
"I won the cup with Molde and then I got to play in the Premier League."
There are not many teenagers who choose to walk away from Manchester United, especially not just after being named the club's young player of the year.
There are even fewer who do that and then also turn down the chance to return to the club within a year of leaving it.
However, tha t is exactly what Mats Møller Dæhli did nine years ago.
For a number of years, United fought hard to lure the Norwegian hopeful to Old Trafford, inviting him for a number of trials as they urged him to make the giant leap to English football.
"I went on many trials from 12, 13 until I was 16," he told MEN Sport. "I think it was four trials. It was really special, I had three very nice years there. It was tough, but I have really good memories and being there on trial and getting signed is an amazing feeling."
Dæhli had been exposed to football since a young age. His father, Truls, was a sports journalist for Verdens Gang and due to his work commitments, they lived in London for two years.
Truls wanted to get his son into football and so he organised a trip for them to go to watch Tottenham in action at White Hart Lane.
His father hoped Mats would get hooked on the home side and that, in turn, they could regularly go to matches — there was just one problem.
The match he chose was the famous United comeback in 2001 when Sir Alex Ferguson's side fought from three goals down to beat Tottenham 5-3. The idea behind the visit was to get his son to support Spurs, but after witnessing what he had in north London there was only one team for him.
During this time, Dæhli also trained with Chelsea but soon the family would be back in Norway where the promising youngster signed for regional club Lyn.
At the age of 12 he was talent spotted by scout John Vik, who watched the youngster for a further 10 matches before using his contacts to recommend that United sign the young hopeful before other top sides became aware of his ability.
"I received tips about four extraordinary talents in the Oslo area four years ago. I saw everyone several times and thought Mats stood out already as a 12-year-old in Lyn," Vik stated.
Vik was not the only Norwegian impressed by his compatriot. All those years after watching Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set up two of United's five goals against Tottenham, the legendary striker was also well aware of Dæhli.
"I have seen Mats several times before, including at the Statoil Academy in Kristiansund," Solskjaer said. "In my opinion, he is on a par with the greatest talents in other European levels in his age group. He has made a very good impression in United. They will bet on him."
After impressing at his trials, Dæhli signed his professional contract with United on his 17th birthday, making his debut at reserve level the same month.
The youngster finished the season with the club's U18 side before he was promoted to the reserve team for the next campaign and excitement grew surrounding the top teenage talent.
"It is very close in United," he remarked at the time. "We eat with the senior players and meet stars all the time. Sometimes I train with Darren Fletcher and others on the reserve team. It's a bit unreal, but very exciting."
The excitement surrounding Dæhli was there for all to see.
United were blessed with an impressive youth team — that also featured the attacking talents of Joshua King, Andreas Pereira and Adnan Januzaj — but it was Dæhli who won the club's Young Player of the Year award in 2012.
Yet, despite so much recognition for his talents, Dæhli found playing time limited at reserve level and was still some way off a first-team promotion.
He remained determined to prove himself in English football, but soon he was faced with a tricky dilemma when childhood idol Solskjaer got in contact with him.
The United legend was in his first spell as manager of Molde, where he won the top-flight twice, and wanted to reinforce his squad with the talents of Dæhli.
Unlike at United, Solskjaer could promise first-team football to the teenager right away.
"I have no regrets," he added of his exit.
"It is a hard decision when you are young. I cannot say it was the right decision, or the wrong decision. It is hard for me to say, but what I experienced in the year after I won the cup with Molde. It was a dream come true."
Dæhli impressed during his maiden half-season with Molde but half a year later he'd get an immediate shot at redemption in English football when Solskjaer was appointed Cardiff manager and looked to raid his former club.
The issue for Solskjaer was that United had first refusal as part of a buy-back clause for the youngster and remained interested in bringing him back to the club.
However, Dæhli made it clear he only had an interest in moving to Cardiff in January 2014, rejecting the chance to re-join United in order to play for a manager he already trusted.
He said: "I joined Man United as a 15-year-old and my dream was to play for them.
"But I also wanted to play for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Premier League.
"He wanted to take me to Cardiff with him and I’m very happy to have signed for this club.”
The South Walian side were fighting to stay in the top-flight but Solskjaer was confident his talented signing could help not only stabilise the sinking ship, but also shine in the Premier League.
“I don’t wish to compare him to others because he is not 19 until March and doesn’t need any extra pressure,” said Solskjaer.
“But Mats is the type of player who likes to get between defensive lines, take people on and create openings.
“When you see the (Samir) Nasri's, (David) Silva's and that type of player, you look at Mats and think he could end up as similar in his style."
Hopes were high, but as Cardiff's season continued to floudner, the opportunities for such a mercurial talent were at a premium as Solskjaer's side headed for the drop.
Dæhli only started five games as the Bluebirds were sent back down to the Championship. His only goal was a memorable one, however, as he netted a 95th-minute equaliser away against West Brom to salvage a precious point.
Solskjaer left Cardiff after a poor start to life back in the second tier, and Dæhli would soon follow him out of the Welsh capital too, joining Bundesliga side Freiburg in the January transfer window of 2015.
Two years later, he joined St. Pauli on-loan before making the move permanent, and then, in 2020, he moved to Belgian side KRC Genk.
Dæhli, still just 26, is now back in Germany with Nurnberg, he has forced his way back into the Norwegian squad and could one day be dreaming of his third chance to put things right in English football.
However, he has had no regrets about his decisions so far.
He adds: "The first one or two years were personally pretty good, being 18 or 19 and having these experiences. I had an injury and the tough times came, but this is something you have to deal with. I would have had to deal with it wherever I was, because injury problems would probably have come anyway.
"It is hard for me to say I regret it, but of course I try to make a decision and then be fully there with it. Not thinking about what could have been."
And what about his feelings toward Solskjaer? The man who endorsed him at United and then signed him twice.
"I owe him a lot, to be honest," Dæhli insisted. "He has meant a lot to me. He gave me the chance to play in the Premier League, but he didn't give me many starts!
"I was young and he gave me the chance to bring me there, so I am thankful that I got to play on that team and the national team. Also, we have a brilliant moment from beating Rosenberg in the Norwegian Cup final together, so those are really special. Then we went different ways.
"The way he is as a person is the most inspiring thing. He is so down to earth, he is hard working, and he is a good guy. This is the most important thing in life, and this is what he has inspired me the most on."
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