Ralf Rangnick explained why he believes RB Leipzig lost out to Borussia Dortmund for Erling Haaland's signature.
Erling Haaland chose Borussia Dortmund over RB Leipzig because the latter could not guarantee game time, according to the club's former sporting director Ralf Rangnick.
No guaranteed start for Haaland
Norway striker Haaland has been a sensation at Dortmund, scoring 18 goals across all competitions since joining from Salzburg in January.
Leipzig were also said to be in the running for Haaland given their links to the Austrian side but Rangnick acknowledged that at the time Dortmund had a spot in their line-up.
"From everything I know about him and his father, the main reason was that Dortmund could guarantee him a regular place," Rangnick told MDR.
"Which wasn't so difficult because apart from [Paco] Alcacer they had no central striker. Alcacer was half the size of Haaland and only half as fast and twice as often injured."
The likes of Naby Keita and Dayot Upamecano have made the move from Salzburg to Leipzig and Rangnick was disappointed to miss out on a player of Haaland's quality.
"What a shame for Leipzig, it would have been a perfect match for us, our team and our style of play," Rangnick added.
Leipzig do now have a Norwegian striker in the form of Alexander Sorloth, who failed to make an impact in the Premier League with Crystal Palace but starred on loan for Trabzonspor in Turkey.
"Maybe with Alexander Sorloth a Haaland two will come to RB Leipzig," Rangnick said.