Revealed: How Juventus almost signed Erling Haaland when he was just 15 years old

Haaland weighed up his options as Europe's top teams lined up to persuade him to leave Molde for them. He ended up choosing to continue his career at Red Bull Salzburg as an 18-year-old, eventually going on to stardom at Borussia Dortmund and, now, Manchester City.

That trajectory could have been much different, according to former Juventus director Giuseppe Marotta, who admitted that he attempted to bring the Norwegian forward to Turin back when he was just 15, but that the move fell apart. Who knows, he could've even been lining up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at one point.

He told Amazon Prime: "When he played in Norway, at Molde, he had been suggested to us. He came as a 15-year-old to watch a Juventus-Inter match at the Allianz Stadium. We were close, but some bureaucratic reasons prevented us from closing the deal, but it is part of the history of those like me and my management at the time who dealt with dozens of players."

Haaland has racked up sensational numbers in front of goal over his career and is off to a flying start this season, scoring nine goals in just six matches. He will hope to improve on those figures when his team meet Premier League title rivals Arsenal on Sunday.