AGF sporting director Stig-Inge Bjornebye has confessed he REJECTED Manchester City star Erling Haaland as a teenager.
Haaland has just helped City to a historic Treble this past season, breaking Premier League and Champions League goalscoring records along the way.
But Bjornebye admits the now 22 year-old was no outstanding talent in his early teens.
The former Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers fullback was then sporting director of Norwegian giants Rosenborg when the son of his ex-Norway teammate Alf-Inge Haaland popped up on the RBK academy training pitches. Bjornebye admits they took a close look at Haaland, but chose to pass on the teen. The striker would eventually sign for Molde, where he was given his first team debut by former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Bjornebye made the revelation when discussing Norway coach Stale Solbakken's decision to pass on Haaland while in charge of FC Copenhagen. It was a decision Solbakken has been pushed about by the local Norwegian press over the past year.
"Yeah, I did that too," Bjornebye told Tribalfootball.com. "Yeah, I did that when he was 15.
"Molde snatched him from in front of us. He wasn't really something we considered at the time. So it's well done to Molde and more so, well done to Haaland."
He added, "Oh look, sometimes you hit the bullseye, sometimes you miss out. It's one of the most difficult things you do in a football club... scout young players. It's pretty unpredictable.
"There's been a few 'why didn't I take him?'. And I'm sure there'll be a few in the future. The main thing is to be successful with the ones you've taken."