Juventus had the opportunity to sign Erling Haaland in 2017 when he was a promising, yet largely unknown, attacker at Molde, according to a report in Tuttosport. The story resurfaced following Haaland’s strong performances at the World Cup and continued goalscoring exploits with Manchester City.
The initial contact was made through Guido Vaciago, a director at Tuttosport, who highlighted an interview with Morabito, a historical agent, from 2021. Morabito revealed that in November 2017, Cherubini, then a youth team director at Juventus, tasked him with mediating with Molde, leveraging his connections in Scandinavia with Jim Solbakken and Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who was Haaland’s manager at the time. The initial tip came from Dodo Spinosi, son of former Juventus player Luciano Spinosi, who had connections to Haaland’s father.
Juventus officials travelled to Norway to scout Haaland, impressed by the young player and his potential. Haaland and his father were subsequently invited to Turin, where they visited the Juventus training facilities and attended a match against Inter. Following the visit, Haaland’s father gave the green light to begin negotiations with Molde. However, Molde demanded a fee of €10 million, while Juventus offered €2.5 million upfront plus a 50% sell-on clause. Molde expressed concerns that Juventus would only acquire Haaland to later sell him on.
Further discussions took place at the Westin Palace in Milan, involving Molde representatives and Juventus executives including Marotta, Paratici, and Cherubini. Despite seeming close to an agreement, Juventus hesitated due to the relatively high fee for an unproven teenager. The club stalled, and Haaland eventually joined Red Bull Salzburg for €5 million, facilitated by Mino Raiola, who became his agent. Former Juventus CEO Beppe Marotta has since described the missed opportunity as one of his biggest regrets, acknowledging the risk assessment involved in signing young players.
While Juventus might have accepted a similar offer to the €60 million Borussia Dortmund received from Manchester City in 2023, the report suggests the biggest loss was the chance to have one of the world’s top strikers play for the club. The situation highlights the difficult balance between calculated risk and potential reward in football transfers.
