KEY POINTS

  • Juventus reportedly were putting Haaland in their U-23 squad
  • This was recently revealed by Haaland's agent
  • Haaland moved from RB Salzburg to Dortmund this January

Erling Haaland refused to join Juventus during the January transfer window because the Serie A club reportedly wanted to put him in their Under-23 squad.

After a great start to the season at RB Salzburg, Haaland was chased by various top European clubs ahead of the transfer market in January. In as many as 22 appearances for the Austrian club in the 2019-20 season, Haaland netted 28 goals and not surprisingly was a hot target for clubs such as Manchester United, Juventus and Dortmund among others.

The striker snubbed Cristiano Ronaldo’s current and former teams – Juventus and Man Utd – and joined Germany’s Dortmund for a bargain price of $22 million and has been producing one impressive performance after another.

Playing alongside the likes of Ronaldo could have boosted Haaland’s confidence as the teenager is at the start of his career which looks very promising already. According to news reports, Haaland's agent Mino Raiola has disclosed that Juve boss Maurizio Sarri was not planning to include the Norwegian forward in the first-team anytime soon.

“Why didn't Haaland move to Juventus? They would have put him in the Under-23 squad,” Raiola told La Repubblica, as per Daily Star.

Interestingly, Haaland recently broke a special record set by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Haaland’s goal in Dortmund's 4-0 victory over Schalke made him the first-ever teenager to score 40 or more goals in a single season. The 19-year-old striker has netted 41 goals so far in the ongoing 2019-20 season. Out of which, 28 came in the Salzburg jersey and the rest have come as a Dortmund player, across all competitions.

Norway striker Erling Braut Haaland has scored five of his nine goals in just six games at Signal Iduna Park, in front of 'The Yellow Wall'.
Norway striker Erling Braut Haaland has scored five of his nine goals in just six games at Signal Iduna Park, in front of 'The Yellow Wall'. AFP / Ina FASSBENDER

Even the likes of Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Neymar, and Luis Suarez failed to achieve the feat. These numbers have proved that Haaland, son of former Manchester City player Alf-Inge Haaland, could aim to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or award in the future, which is the symbol of individual brilliance in soccer.

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