Bayern Munich attempted €250M package to trump Manchester City for star man in 2022

Manchester City may have been competing against one of their star players this week, had things turned out differently during the last summer transfer window.

That name is Erling Haaland – who joined the club in the transfer of the summer from Borussia Dortmund, in a deal that is understood to be worth an initial £51 million due to the player’s release clause.

The 22 year-old has been in exemplary form for Manchester City so far this season, scoring 47 goals across all competitions so far, and a hugely important strike against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first-leg last week.

However, things may have been very different should certain decisions had been made last summer, with a recent report suggesting that Haaland could in fact have become a Bayern Munich player instead of Manchester City just under 12 months ago.

That is according to the information of Kicker, who claim that Allianz Arena bosses were prepared to break the financial framework within the club to sign Erling Haaland, and pay the Norway international an annual salary of around €35 million.

It is further stated – as translated and relayed by Sport Witness – that Bayern Munich would have sanctioned a €75 million transfer fee, taking the overall expenditure of a deal to the €250 million mark.

However, no such proposal was ever formalised, as it is claimed at the time of the talks, Robert Lewandowski had not yet declared his intention to seek a fresh challenge away from the Bundesliga, before eventually joining FC Barcelona.

Erling Haaland and Manchester City travel to Bavaria on Tuesday night, as they look to finalise plans for the Champions League quarter-final second-leg knowing that they also have that crucial three-goal advantage heading into the tie.

The winners of Bayern Munich against Manchester City will secure their place in the last-four of Europe’s premier club competition, where either Real Madrid or Chelsea will await them – with those two clubs taking on one another on Tuesday night.

An FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium follows the trip to Munich for Manchester City this weekend, before all eyes will then turn to a huge clash in the Premier League, as Pep Guardiola’s players host Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.