Erling Haaland became a "burden" on Borussia Dortmund before his £51million transfer to Manchester City.
That's according to the Bundesliga club's sporting director Sebastian Kehl, who says every conversation about Dortmund became about the highly-rated Norway international and what team he'd be joining next.
Dortmund signed Haaland from RB Salzburg for just £18m and he immediately made a huge impression, going on to score a staggering 86 goals in 88 appearances in all competitions for the German club. His form caught the eye of the likes of Man City, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Bayern Munich, and the speculation began.
Discussing the toll the constant talk had on Dortmund, Kehl told German publication Sport Bild: "In the end, the Haaland issue became a burden in the locker room.
"As much as we always loved Haaland and he was successful with us, in the end, he became a burden on the dressing room, the club and the whole environment.
"He had become the subject of every conversation. Outside the club, almost everything was exclusively focused on him. In the end, the timing of the transfer was right for both parties. And we are all happy for Erling that he continues to be so successful."
Kehl did however admit that "we would like to have him still with us" and that "Erling is a really good guy".
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Haaland has hit the ground running at Man City, netting a staggering 12 goals in just seven appearances in all competitions including two hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest in back-to-back games.
Kehl said that "we knew what kind of player we were going to lose and that would also make a difference at Manchester City".
Haaland's new boss Pep Guardiola is also delighted with the start the Norwegian has made at the Etihad.
"Sergio Aguero is the legend," explained the Man City boss. "Nobody can break the position in the hearts of City fans, scoring the most important goal in modern history.
"Erling has the quality to be there. It's not about him or Sergio. What Sergio has done is amazing. But Erling has this talent. When City bought Erling, everybody talked about what he has done in the past.
"What we wanted to do is help him. Hopefully, he can enjoy and score more goals. What he has done in Norway, Austria and Germany he tries to do here. He's talented, we knew it."
