Erling Haaland's complicated history with Man Utd: City's red-hot striker could've ended up at Old Trafford - but family history & Roy Keane jibes have only made him relish beating bitter rivals more!

Haaland's upbringing was fertile to despising United as his father Alfie played for two of their biggest rivals in Leeds and City. Haaland Senior was not exactly a bystander in either rivalry. As a Leeds player he once referred to United as 'scum' and he had an infamous spat with Roy Keane in a match at Elland Road in 1997, when the United captain at the time blamed him for injuring his knee and telling him to get up when he was in agony.

Haaland denies trying to injure Keane or laughing at him. "He tried to tackle me and I got the free-kick," he said years later. "He was lying on the ground and I just told him to ‘get up’ as you normally do with players - nothing more than that. I wasn’t trying to intend anything against him, but obviously he took that very hard."

He was right about that. Never one to forget a grudge, Keane carried that sense of injustice with him for four years and exacted his revenge in a 2001 Manchester derby at Old Trafford when Haaland was playing for City, flying into his opponent's right knee. The former Ireland international wrote in his autobiography: "I'd waited long enough. I f*****g hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c***. And don't ever stand over me again sneering about fake injuries."

Keane was fined £5,000 ($6,300) and given a three-match ban at the time. And a year later when he revealed the tackle was intentional, he was fined an extra £150,000 ($189,000) and suspended for a further five games. Haaland retired at the age of 30, two years after the infamous tackle. He later reflected: "I haven’t played a full 90 minutes after that incident, that’s the hard fact. Obviously I found out afterwards that it was with intent and he was seeking revenge and all these things. I think that’s a bit sad."

Haaland Junior has shown no interest in dwelling on the incident, claiming he had never spoken to his dad about it. And when United fans chanted 'Keano' before he took his penalty at Old Trafford earlier this season, he played dumb. He said: "A lot of people were singing 'Keano', I don’t know why. But, it is what it is. I had the pressure and I scored - it was a fantastic feeling."

The striker enjoys exchanging insults with United fans when he comes across them but does not take the rivalry too seriously. "Look, it’s all about banter and I enjoy that. I’ve already met some United supporters here in the city, and we’re always joking with each other. It’s about not taking everything too seriously," he told Four Four Two.

"There are a lot of United fans in my home town in Norway, so I’ve always had to have a go at them. I’m used to this and I love it. Don’t take things too seriously. I want to be able to talk a bit like the fans, otherwise it gets a bit boring, doesn’t it?"

But Haaland was not far from joining United on two occasions. He admitted he owes a lot to Red Devils legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who played a key role in the early stage of his career.

Haaland had had a difficult start to life as a professional when he broke into the first team at Bryne, aged 16. He failed to score in 16 matches for his hometown club but fared better at Molde under the tutelage of Solskjaer, scoring 14 times.

"Solskjaer has had a huge impact on my life, both as a person and as a trainer," Haaland said in September 2019, when he was playing for RB Salzburg and his old boss was now in charge of Manchester United. "He won the Champions League and was an incredibly good player. He has taught me a lot. I have dreamed of playing for the best clubs in the world my whole life, and I especially like English football."

Solskjaer did his best to try and reunite with Haaland by bringing him to United. Just three months later, after Haaland had taken the Champions League by storm by scoring eight times for Salzburg, the United boss at the time flew to meet the striker's entourage, including Alfie.

The main stumbling block was the terms of the contract, which Haaland's agent Mino Raiola had drawn up. According to The Manchester Evening News, Raiola wanted to secure a share from future sales of Haaland and insert a low buy-out clause which would become active within two years.

In other words, this was a deal that favoured Haaland and his representatives far more than it did the club. And United, who described the terms as 'bad for the industry', were not willing to play ball.

Dortmund, who have done remarkably well by giving young players a chance and then parting with them within a few years for big money, were much more flexible and accepted the terms, agreeing a £17m ($21m) fee with Salzburg. Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke later admitted: "We gave Erling Haaland a release clause, otherwise he would have gone to Manchester United."

That clause meant Dortmund only made £51m ($64m) when Haaland signed for City two-and-a-half years later, a considerably low fee considering the player's age and his astonishing tally of 86 goals in 89 games. Still, the Bundesliga side did pretty well out of the deal in sporting and financial terms.

Should United have been more flexible? One could argue that they were in no position to reject a player of Haaland's talent at the time. Their top scorer the previous season was Paul Pogba, with 19 goals, while the following campaign it was Anthony Martial on 23. Haaland would have comfortably outscored both.

“I think that was a bit of arrogance by Manchester United because they're a big club," said ex-Man City winger Trevor Sinclair on talkSPORT. "They’ve said, ‘We're not accepting that’. Who can afford not to have a player like Haaland for three years and then sell him for three times the money, if he wants to go?"

Solskjaer has also revealed that he had recommended Haaland to United in 2018 when he was still managing Molde. He told a charity dinner: "I got in contact with United because we had this talented striker who they should have had," said Solskjaer. "But they didn’t listen, unfortunately. Four million, I asked for. But they never signed him. Four million! Don’t ask (where he is now). He’s too good."

Solskjaer had also discussed the possibility of Haaland joining United with the Norwegian media. "We have had offers from good clubs this year but we rejected them," he said in 2018. "He is probably not the world’s biggest Manchester United fan, but if they come to the door, there are not many who say no to that."

Haaland might not have been the world's biggest United fan, but he has also cited the 2008 Champions League final, when the Red Devils beat Chelsea in Moscow, as the match which made him fall in love with Europe's elite competition. In other words, he would probably have put his father's former clubs to one side had United shown genuine interest in signing him.

Haaland has since hinted that he was interested in joining United. Asked by Gary Neville in 2022 why he did not link up with Solskjaer again, Haaland abruptly responded: "You would have to ask him."

There is a lot of ambiguity around United's interest in Haaland but one thing that is very clear about the Norwegian striker is that his career has been meticulously planned ever since he was 16, when it was clear he was destined for the top. Raiola and Alfie had spoken to many clubs about him over the course of his career and it should come as little surprise that United were among them, given their status in European football.

However, Raiola and Haaland Senior could also see that United were no longer the force they used to be and envisaged that moving to Old Trafford either in 2018 or 2019 could have held him back at a time when he needed to play every week.

"We have been doing every step perfectly, I have a good and small team around me that focus a lot," Haaland said when he signed for City. No one could argue with that choice, with Haaland scoring 79 goals in 83 matches while helping City win the treble in his first season.

With Haaland back to his ruthless best after his foot injury and chiming with Kevin De Bruyne again, no one would want to bet against City doing another clean sweep of trophies. And after his five-goal haul against Luton, Haaland delivered a message for City's rivals. "It's coming, we're coming... We are ready to attack." United have been warned.