It is well known that Bayern Munich had the chance to sign superstar Erling Haaland before he made the move form Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City.
Heck, some are even aware that Bayern Munich almost pulled the trigger on a deal for Haaland when we was at Red Bull Salzburg.
However, did you know about the first time the Bavarians missed on the the Norwegian striker?
Haaland, who has become one of the most feared goalscorers in world football, could have been in Bayern Munich years before he became
a household name according to former Bayern Munich assistant coach Hermann Gerland.
Per Gerland, a signing was extremely close.
The center-forward was still a relatively unknown teenager playing for Molde when Gerland first saw him in action for Norway’s youth national team against Germany. What Gerland saw immediately convinced him that Bayern Munich needed to move quickly.
“I watched him back then with the Norway youth national team when they played against Germany, and I thought to myself, ‘What’s going on here? Who is this guy?‘ — I immediately called FC Bayern and said, ‘We have to sign him.’ Haaland was still playing for Molde at the time. Three or four days later, he came to visit the FC Bayern campus. The transfer fee would have been cheap, and he wanted to earn between €10,000 and €15,000 gross. But in the end, FC Bayern didn’t want to pay. Some people said, ‘We have Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski up front. Where is he supposed to play?’ These things happen,” said Gerland told Abendzeitung (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
It is one of those transfer stories that looks dramatically different with the benefit of hindsight. At the time, Bayern Munich already had two established attacking stars in Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski. From the club’s perspective, finding a meaningful role for a young striker behind two proven players would have been difficult.
Haaland, however, quickly demonstrated why Gerland was so convinced. After leaving Molde, he developed into a star at Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund before eventually joining Manchester City, where his extraordinary scoring record has continued.
In all, Bayern Munich had three chances (at Molde, at Red Bull Salzburg, and at Borussia Dortmund) to ink Haaland and missed on each one — an unprecedented string of unfortunate events.
For Bayern Munich supporters, the story is a fascinating reminder of just how difficult talent identification and scoutring can be. Gerland identified Haaland’s potential remarkably early, but the club ultimately decided that its existing attacking options made the investment unnecessary.
Few transfer regrets can be measured against the career Haaland has gone on to build. Bayern Munich already had Lewandowski and Müller, but knowing what Haaland would become, the decision not to sign him is certainly one that will continue to invite plenty of “what if?” questions.
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