A host of other clubs were linked with the Norway international, who was always likely to seek pastures new this summer due to a release clause in his contract.
City ultimately won the race for his signature, with Haaland set to officially complete his move on July 1.
(Image credit: PA)
Thomas Tuchel admitted earlier in the season that Chelsea were weighing up a move for the 21-year-old.
"We talked about Erling Haaland a couple of times, including during the transfer window [last summer]. But then it seemed absolutely unrealistic and not at all feasible,” the Chelsea boss told Bild in October.
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“We talk about him regularly, of course, because he’s a fantastic player and clearly the defining figure at Dortmund, who is a big rival for us in the Champions League.
“You mean two at the top, (Romelu) Lukaku and Haaland? We can talk about it!
“I don’t think we’ve been really serious about it yet, but let’s see what will happen in the next few weeks."
(Image credit: Getty Images)
However, ESPN reports that Chelsea did not follow up on their interest due to doubts over how well Haaland would adapt to English football.
Key figures at the club wondered whether the striker would be so effective against Premier League defences because there tends to be less space to run into than in the Bundesliga.
Meanwhile Barcelona are said to have harboured doubts about Haaland's personality, while Real Madrid were concerned by an injury record which has seen the Norwegian miss 17 games for Dortmund this term.
The report adds that Madrid were nevertheless the frontrunners to sign Haaland a few months back, only for City to convince him to move to the Etihad Stadium
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Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).
