Recently, German journalist Falk wrote about the inside story of Bayern's attempt to sign Haaland before he transferred from Dortmund to Manchester City.
The original text is as follows:
On Sunday, March 7, 2021, the phone of Haaland's agent Raiola rang. He was familiar with the number of calls, so he answered the call - "We need to talk!" Hassan Salihamidic began the conversation. Less than 24 hours ago, Dortmund, where Haaland is located, just lost 2-4 to Bayern Munich.
Dortmond has realized that Haaland will not fulfill the contract expires on June 30, 2024. When Dortmund signed Haaland from Red Bull Salzburg, he paid 20 million euros and agreed to include a termination clause in the contract, the amount was 60 million euros.
Raiola listened carefully to Salihamidich's words, and Haaland would visit his house. Raiola gave the detailed address. Salihamidich's residence is located in the Haraxing District of Munich. Haaland drove to Salihamidic's home and had a face-to-face conversation with Bayern's sports director. "I like this house, and I want to have one like this," Haaland said to Salihamidic, "but it's free!"
This silly talk broke the deadlock between the two. Haaland was impressed by the teamwork of Bayern management. Sally showed Haaland what the club planned for him and how to build a team around him. They told him that he was the core player of Bayern's future plan and that Bayern was willing to sign him with an amount that exceeded his previous limits, which is unprecedented in the club's history. These words had an impact on Haaland.
Then, Raiola answered the phone and said to Salihamidic: "You have convinced this child! Now we need to talk about money." - Raiola made a request. Salihamidic told Raiola that he needed to discuss with Bayern's board of directors and that he could not decide such a large amount alone.
A few weeks later, Bayern contacted Raiola and said they had prepared a offer. Raiola immediately flew to Munich in a private plane for negotiations. He told the Bayern delegation that the Haalands were indeed interested in joining Bayern, and then he listened to Sally's proposal. Although Bayern cannot provide a high salary like a Premier League club, they guarantee the Haaland and his son will earn a generous share of any future transfers.
Raiola not only negotiated with Bayern, but also took Haaland's father Alfie to visit all parts of Europe to listen to quotes from other clubs.
Finally, Raiola called Bayern: "Will this transfer happen? What I can tell you is that from a competitive perspective, you have been our first choice for a long time, and you have the best argument. But in terms of amount, you are surpassed by other clubs."