Just days after insisting that he would have had no problem taking Erling Haaland to Manchester United, agent Mino Raiola has switched his story and claimed that he would never take any of his clients to Old Trafford.
United were incredibly keen on signing Haaland, but are understood to have pulled out after learning of Raiola's excessive demands. The young striker eventually opted to join Borussia Dortmund instead.
Our number 17 🙌 pic.twitter.com/V8sdx26kI2
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) December 30, 2019
Raiola hit back at claims that the deal fell apart because of him, insisting that it was Haaland himself who did not want to deal with United, but he appears to have changed his tune just one day later.
Now, speaking to La Republicca (via the Daily Mail), Raiola launched an attack on United, insisting that another of his clients, Paul Pogba, is being held back by the club.
"Pogba's problem is Manchester United. It's a club out of touch with reality and without a sporting project," he claimed.
"I wouldn't take anyone there, they would even ruin [Diego] Maradona, Pelé and [Paolo] Maldini. Paul needs a club and a squad, one like Juventus was before."
That comes despite Raiola's claims that he would have taken Haaland to United if the Norwegian had wanted to go, while the agent also recently claimed that he was 'good' with United after learning that they will not sell Pogba in January.
He certainly does not sound 'good' with United.
While there may well be some truth to the claim that it was Haaland's decision not to head to Old Trafford, Raiola's latest comments will only support claims that he may have had more of an impact than he is letting on.
United were hesitant to get into negotiations with Haaland as they did not want to deal with Raiola, because they feared the Dutch agent would be more bothered about securing a transfer for Pogba - something which his latest comments appear to reinforce.
Raiola is thought to have pocketed €15m for his role in Haaland's switch to Dortmund. As much as they did want to sign the striker, you get the sense that they still might feel as though they dodged a bullet with Raiola.
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Source : 90min