As Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions look to reinforce their position as the dominant force in Manchester, the Blues have sent the trophy into a Manchester United heartland hundreds of miles away where they are looking to capitalise on the stratospheric effect of their new superstar signing.
Erling Haaland, who came close to signing for the Reds in 2020 but brutally did not consider them this summer, has already obliterated doubts over his ability to cut it in English football with an astonishing 14 goals from his first 10 games. Haaland is on a seven-match scoring run in all competitions going into Sunday’s derby while the only manager whose team has stopped him from scoring in the top flight - Scott Parker’s Bournemouth - has been sacked.
While English football tries to work out how to stop the 22-year-old, a gleeful Manchester City have reasons to celebrate off the pitch as well. The arrival of a bonafide superstar has sent interest in the club soaring, with the club achieving a record month for retail in July as the new signing helped launch the away kit from NASA headquarters in Houston before August then produced even more sales.
An important part of City’s growth has been in Norway, a country dominated by United and Liverpool fans where the Blues also trailed Leeds, Arsenal and Tottenham for popularity. Three months into the 2022/23 season, sales of City club merchandise are up 219 per cent in Norway on the relevant period last year while the club have already sold 77 per cent of the total they sold over the whole of last season in across Scandinavia; Haaland shirt sales have accounted for more than half (51 per cent) of total sales in the region and sixty per cent in Norway.
The mania around Haaland in England is nothing compared to his home country, where the footballer has transcended his sport to the point where their country’s king has even commented on him ("He is a remarkable, great footballer," said King Harald). Shops in his hometown of Bryne and beyond that previously stocked Dortmund shirts are now seeing City shirts fly off the shelves quicker than they can restock as every kid wants to be seen wearing his jersey.
“A lot has changed,” said Adrien Richvoldsen - a Norwegian journalist at Nettavisen and one of many that has been sent to Manchester to cover their boy wonder. “As an example, I have friends who hasn’t seen Premier League in many years, suddenly subscribing and paying a decent amount of money per month just to watch Manchester City, but first and foremost to see Erling Braut Haaland.
“He is very visible - on billboards, in magazines et cetera. Even people who don’t follow or like football knows who he is and what he is doing. I’ve never experienced anything like it in my years as a sports journalist, and that includes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Man United manager.”
Many in the country admire how humble the boy from Bryne has remained despite his incredible rise to the top of world football, and the controlling of his brand from the slick team around him ensures there is still intrigue around Haaland’s persona even there are few secrets left about his playing ability. The switch to City has boosted his profile and several high-profile interviews already have helped to feed the frenzy of news, yet at the same time his national team have had to replace the traditional one-on-one interviews with a press conference because the insatiable demand for Haaland would leave him conducting media duties for hours in a day.
“Haaland is without doubt the athlete who is written about the most in Norway right now,” said Tore Ulrik Bratland, from Dagbladet. “Norwegians are crazy about the latest news from Manchester. You can't get Bernardo Silva to become interesting in Norway - unless he has provided an assist for Haaland.
“At the same time, he has managed to preserve the mystery around himself. Nobody really knows Haaland. He filters the water and uses special glasses to sleep at night. He gave Rolex watches as gifts to his Borussia Dortmund teammates before he left.
“Apart from after matches, he gives few interviews. But he seems like a nice guy who likes to create a good mood around himself. The Dolce & Gabbana suit he was pictured wearing on his private jet is as much a joke as he means it.”
Guardiola wryly likened Haaland’s athleticism for his second goal against Dortmund this month to Zlatan Ibrahimovic - one of the outstanding footballers over the last 25 years who has famously never had good things to say about a manager who he fell out with badly at Barcelona over a decade ago. Just like the Swedish icon, Haaland is developing a brand and superstardom that goes far beyond the game and allows him to do what he wants.
The Norwegian FA have been some of the most outspoken critics of human rights abuses in Qatar during World Cup qualifying and some in the country have questioned moving to City given Amnesty International’s criticism of their Abu Dhabi owners.. However, such is the hope and hype that Norway finally have their own Ibrahimovic that many are more focused on how Haaland can get them firing to major tournaments again for the first time since the turn of the millennium.
"The vast majority in Norway still believe that you cannot blame Haaland and the players at City. This is at an overall political level," adds Ulrik.
"If you ignore the owners, most Norwegians want Haaland to succeed at the club. It is due to a desperate desire over several years to get a world-class player. Norway has never had this before. Ole Gunnar Solskjær and John Arne Riise were good at Manchester United and Liverpool respectively, but they were never world-class players. For years we have envied Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
"But now we have it, finally, a world-class player. The hope is that this can take the whole of Football Norway with it, and lift the nation up to a new level. Norway is desperate to get to a football championship. Twenty-two years of waiting is far too long. Now something has to start happening. And Haaland can be the man to go up front.
If the Norwegians can sense the remarkable possibilities around the youngster, so too can City. They know that their success in Scandinavia largely depends on Haaland and also that catching Liverpool and United will be a monumental task but their rapid progress in the region - in addition to the retail records, the Norway City Supporters branch has added 10 per cent to its membership - has encouraged them to strike while the iron is hot.
That is why, for the first time ever, the club's trophy tour has headed to Norway where Alfie Haaland's friend and former teammate Paul Dickov (as well as Moonchester, obviously) will be watching the derby from Oslo. After a signing session on Friday evening, there will be coaching clinics for youngsters with City youngsters on Sunday around the screening of the game in the country's capital.
The UK currency may be struggling, but investments in anything connected to Haaland continue to go through the roof. For as long as they have such a priceless asset, City are determined to make as many gains as possible to help elevate the club to new heights around the world.