"Haaland had been promised to Roma," says Balzaretti

Federico Balzaretti made a stunning reveal where he stated that Erling Haaland was one step away from joining AS Roma in Serie A.

Erling Haaland has been turning heads ever since he signed for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. The 20-year-old phenomenon has 25 goals in 24 appearances for the Yellow and Blacks and is currently the Champions League’s top-scorer. In fact, Haaland is only three goals away from setting up a new personal goalscoring record in one season and we’re only halfway through the current one.

The Norwegian striker is one of the most wanted players in the world at this moment and is currently valued at a whooping €110 million. Since it’s clear it will be quite difficult to sign Erling Haaland without going into bankruptcy, there’s bound to be some clubs cursing their luck. In fact, AS Roma is feeling what Arsenal must’ve felt after realizing they passed up the opportunity to sign Ronaldo.

Happy to help us win last night! ⚽⚽ #UCL pic.twitter.com/KvgtNCymeC
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) February 18, 2021

Federico Balzaretti, who works in the club’s management, revealed that Haaland was incredibly close to sealing the deal with Roma. The conversations to sign the young starlet happened when he was a 17-year-old prodigy at Molde.

“Haaland had been promised to Roma,” he told Radio Radio as per Football Italia. “We spoke many times with his father and his entourage. But I think he didn’t choose Roma, like with Juventus, for a technical path. He chose to go to Salzburg for personal reasons.

“In Italy, he might have had more difficulties at the beginning. There, in Austria, he instead had the opportunity to play immediately. You see it in his next move to Borussia Dortmund after Salzburg too. He went to a strong team but not the absolute top, to continue growing. Now he looks ready for the final and definitive leap.”