Did you know that Erling Haaland was eligible to play for England?
Manchester City confirmed on Tuesday that they have completed the signing of one of the finest young forwards in world football, Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
The Cityzens will pay a transfer fee of £51 million ($63m) that will trigger a release clause in the striker’s contract with the German club. Haaland has agreed to sign a five-year deal with the Premier League giants.
The prolific striker has been in sensational form at Dortmund and is expected to be a quality addition to Pep Guardiola's arsenal.
As Haaland is all set to start a new journey in England, we take a look at some of the unknown and interesting facts about the Norwegian.
Interestingly, Haaland played against India colts back in 2016. As a preparation for the U17 World Cup in 2017, the India junior team played a friendly match against the Norway U16 national side in an exposure trip in Europe. Haaland scored one goal to help his team pip the Indian boys.
Followed father’s footsteps
Erling Haaland followed his father Alfie Haland's footsteps as he recently joined Premier League Manchester City. Alfie or Alf-Inge Haland plied his trade in England for several years playing for Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Manchester City.
Hails from a sporting family
Erling Haaland hails from a sporting family. Other than his father Alfie who played in the Premier League, his mother Gry Marita Braut was a national heptathlon champion.
Haaland's maternal cousins Albert Tjaland and Jonatan Braut Brunes play for Norwegian clubs Bryne and IK Start respectively. Jonatan's sister Emma Braut Brunes plays as a defender for Norwegian side Klepp's women's team.
He was eligible to play for England national team!
Haaland was born on July 21, 2001, in Leeds while his father Alfie Haaland was playing for Leeds United. As he was born in England, the forward was eligible to represent the English national team. Fortunately for Norway, he opted to play for his native country.
Haaland the 'Man-Child’
Haaland was fondly given the nickname, 'The Man-Child' by his teammates during his younger days due to his enormous size since childhood. His present height is 194 metres (6 feet 4 inches).
World record holder at just five!
The footballer leapt 1.63 metres in standing long jump when he was just five years old. According to International Age Records, it is a world record for a five-year-old which still stands.
Only teenager to score in his first Champions League matches
Till date, only three players have scored in each of their first five appearances in the Champions League. Alessandro Del Piero, Diego Costa and Erling Haaland are the players who have achieved that feat and the Norwegian is the youngest player to do so. Haaland scored eight goals for Red Bull Salzburg in their first five group stage matches during the 2019/20 season.
Idolises Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Erling Haaland idolised Sweden legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic while growing up. In an interview in the past with redbullsalzburg.at, the player mentioned, "I had a lot of role models and I have seen many good players, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the biggest one for me. How he became so good, the [path] he took, the way he plays. Also, he is Scandinavian, so someone has to take over from him."
It has to be noted that Haaland had the same football agent as Ibrahimovic, Mino Raiola who recently passed away.
Follows Cristiano Ronaldo’s diet
While Haaland idolises Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a footballer, when it comes to off the field discipline and dietary restrictions, he follows the path of Cristiano Ronaldo.
In an interview with ESPN FC in 2019, Alfie Haland had said, "He was told a story by Patrice Evra about a lunch he had with Ronaldo and Cristiano had fish, nothing else. Erling now tries to do the same things because Ronaldo is 34 and still at the top of the game, so it shows the value of doing the right things."
Champions League theme song is his alarm!
The UEFA Champions League is the flagship competition of European football and Erling Haaland dreams of winning it one day. In fact, he is so obsessed with the tournament that uses the official anthem of the tournament as his alarm tone.
In an interview with TV2, Haaland had said, "That's my alarm tone. I wake up to it every day. It's the last song I'd get tired of. I wake up to it. So I always get a perfect start to the day."
Nine goals in a match!
In a 2019 U20 World Cup group stage match against Honduras, Erling Haaland scored nine goals which helped Norway win the tie 12-0. Haaland was the top goalscorer of the competition even though his team did not go past the group stage.