Demolition derby shows how Manchester City have left rivals Manchester United behind

Goals, hat-tricks, assists – you name it – Erling Haaland’s numbers are moving north at an extraordinary pace at the start of what promises to be an unparalleled career at Manchester City.

Just about the only figure that won’t change is that the £51million City agreed to pay Borussia Dortmund to sign the prolific Norwegian striker in the summer.

Activating Haaland’s buyout clause at Dortmund meant incredibly good business for City, who are looking even better after his contribution to Sunday’s demolition derby at the Etihad.

There was a time when Manchester United thought Haaland had signed and sealed. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told United staff he thought a deal was in the air after flying to Austria in December 2019 to speak with Haaland, his former Molde striker then with Red Bull Salzburg.

It is clear that unlike Dortmund, United were unwilling to accept the resale clauses demanded by Mino Raiola, the player’s agent, and instead moved to Germany.

Three years later, United didn’t even cross Haaland’s mind as he weighed up his next club earlier this year, according to a new documentary Haaland: The Big Decision.

The 22-year-old and his father Alfie used a points system to determine their best option, with City coming out on top of seven clubs. United was not one of them.

It seems to be a similar situation with Jude Bellingham, a rising star of English football.

Haaland could have joined Man United in 2019 if the club had agreed to resale clauses

United missed Jude Bellingham who chose Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2020

Solskjaer brought in Sir Alex Ferguson to impress Bellingham when the young Birmingham midfielder and his parents visited Carrington in March 2020 but it made no difference. Bellingham also moved to Dortmund and will move to Liverpool rather than United next summer.

It has been clear for some time that United no longer have the same appeal in football, and that was brutally exposed in their crushing 6-3 defeat at the Etihad.

Despite a club record £220 million spent in the transfer window, United’s rebuilding under Erik ten Hag was given a cruel reality check at the hands of Pep Guardiola.

It’s not that United recruited badly in the summer. Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia and Antony have all improved the team – not that you would have known on Sunday.

It’s just that United ‘burned f***ing with money’, to quote their CEO Richard Arnold, chasing their neighbors and still have a long way to go.

Erik ten Hag has contracted former players Antony (right) and Lisandro Martinez (right) in the summer

City now looks like the model club. Every summer they tweak a winning team with players like Haaland to stay ahead, just like United did under Ferguson.

United, on the other hand, is more like City in the period after the Abu Dhabi takeover, where they bet big money to get to the high rollers of football.

They now have three ex-Real Madrid stars on the books: Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Casemiro. They have 14 Champions League titles together, as well as 96 years, and they have cost United a total of £125 million, excluding wages.

Ronaldo didn’t come off the bench at the Etihad, Casemiro came into play in the last half hour but has yet to make his presence felt as Varane walked away before the break after a scorching first half with an ankle injury that isn’t thought to be serious .

Ten Hag signed Martinez and Antony from his old club Ajax, in the belief that they can make a difference, and they probably will, but both came for the maximum price. Antony cost £82 million and Martinez was more expensive than Haaland at £55.3 million.

It has pushed the club’s spending to more than £1bn since Ferguson retired as United tried to re-establish themselves as the best team in England. Sunday was a painful reminder that they are far from being the best team in Manchester . .

Cristiano Ronaldo (right) and Casemiro (left) are seen as Manchester United gambling games