Norwegian striker Erling Haaland is one of the biggest stars in soccer at the moment and probably one of the most expensive players in the world. So, you can only imagine how hurtful it was for Juventus fans to learn that their club had a chance to sign Haaland for just €2 million several years ago.
This nugget was recently revealed by Inter Milan’s CEO Giuseppe Marotta when he was asked about the biggest regrets he had from his work as a soccer executive.
“One of my biggest regrets was the Haaland deal. I was Juventus CEO, and we had the chance to sign him for €2 million from Molde,” said Marotta during an appearance at the Trento Sport Festival. “It was close. Now it’s impossible to see Haaland in Serie A—there’s no chance for Italian clubs to sign him next summer.”
Haaland played for Molde between 2017 and 2019, scoring 20 goals in 50 matches with the club. After Juve missed the opportunity to sign Haaland, Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg stepped in and acquired the talented striker for around $10 million.
Haaland only spent one year with Salzburg while finding the back of the net 29 times in 27 matches, securing him to a move to Bundesliga powerhouse Borussia Dortmund. He continued to score at will in Germany and is now being monitored by almost every big club in Europe, with Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and Manchester United being just some of the clubs waiting in line.
