"Sir Alex phoned me up a lot to get my opinion on players in Norway," Hareide (then manager of Molde) said.
"He knew I knew Manchester and the English scene and wanted my views on certain players and how they might do in England.
"Then finally came the day when the call was about one of my players. Sir Alex asked about Ole Gunnar. I knew we would miss him badly but you can't stand in a player's way when Manchester United come along.
"I told him: `You've got to sign him.' And he did. United got him for £1.5m! I think they owe me some money considering what they got!
"I knew he had the skill and dedication to succeed even at such a huge club. Ole was always a keen planner and wanted to learn and improve. He always had a goal. He was very dedicated.
"But he would never go anywhere unless he felt he was ready. He wouldn't have gone to United if he hadn't felt it was the right time.
"He told me once that Hamburg and Cagliari from Italy were interested in him. But he didn't feel he was ready to leave Norway so he stayed.
"But he's a quick learner. He knows how to adapt and behave so when he went to United I felt he was suited to both the club and to Sir Alex Ferguson.
"The great thing about Ole is he has never changed. I worked with him at Molde and then 11 years later I worked with him again when he returned to the Norwegian international squad and I was his manager. He was the same Ole.
"No matter what he had achieved in between he was still the same guy.