When it comes to modern-day strikers, we aren’t sure there are many who can claim to be as good, let alone better than Manchester City’s star striker, Erling Haaland.
Since arriving in the Premier League from Borussia Dortmund last summer, the world-class forward has been breaking records left, right and centre, as well as the hearts of opposition fans the country over.
However, for such a famous football player, there is still a lot that fans perhaps don’t know about the goalscoring sensation.
With that in mind, Football FanCast has created a list of everything you need to know about the Norwegian striker.
Erling Haaland’s transfer fee
When Manchester City announced the signing of Erling Haaland in June 2022, fans and pundits alike were expecting an astronomical fee; after all, this Norwegian wonderkid had been tearing it up in Germany for the previous two seasons and was tipped to be one of, if not the best striker in the world.
So when the fee was revealed to be just £51m, it’s fair to say that people were shocked. Now, that is obviously a lot of money in any other walk of life, but when it comes to football transfers, it is honestly rather reasonable.
In fact, as shown in the table below, his £51m fee made him just the eighth-most expensive Premier League transfer that summer, behind the likes of Antony, Darwin Nunez and Marc Cucurella – and the less said about them, the better.
There are, of course, other costs that go into a deal like this, with Sky Sports reporting that the fee will rise to £85.5m should all add-ons be met and include agent fees as well.
Player |
From |
To |
Fee |
---|---|---|---|
Antony |
Ajax |
Manchester United |
£82m |
Wesley Fofana |
Leicester City |
Chelsea |
£70m |
Darwin Núñez |
Benfica |
Liverpool |
£64m |
Casemiro |
Real Madrid |
Manchester United |
£60m |
Alexander Isak |
Real Sociedad |
Newcastle United |
£59m |
Marc Cucurella |
Brighton & Hove Albion |
Chelsea |
£56m |
Erling Haaland |
Borussia Dortmund |
Manchester City |
£51m |
Richarlison |
Everton |
Tottenham Hotspur |
£50m |
Lisandro Martinez |
Ajax |
Manchester United |
£48.5m |
Raheem Sterling |
Manchester City |
Chelsea |
£47.5m |
Erling Haaland’s wage
While the transfer fee to bring him to the Etihad was reasonable in the grand scheme of football transfers, Haaland’s reported wage certainly sets him apart from his fellow Premier League strikers.
According to Spotrac, the Norwegian superstar is currently on a base wage of £375,000 a week in Manchester, while the Daily Mail reported last October that the striker was actually earning closer to £850,000 a week thanks to ‘relatively straightforward bonuses’ in his deal.
In comparison, Nunez currently earns £140,000 a week at Liverpool, Gabriel Jesus earns £265,000 a week at Arsenal, and Mohamed Salah earns a whopping £350,000 per week at Liverpool.
Haaland is leaving everyone in the dust on a financial front, but given his output, it’s hard to argue he isn’t worth it.
Erling Haaland’s goal record
With how the former Molde man has adapted to life in the Premier League and blown away every record going, it should come as no surprise to hear that he was equally prolific for his former sides as well.
In fact, in his 252 senior club appearances at the time of writing, Haaland has scored a whopping 200 goals. While the majority of his goals have come for Borussia Dortmund, he is well on his way to surpassing that tally with the Sky Blues – and he’s only been there for a season.
Last year, he set a new Premier League record for the most goals scored in a single campaign, coming in at a simply staggering 36 goals.
What’s even scarier for opposing teams this year is the fact that after 11 league games, he’s already on 11 goals, meaning he could very well break his own record come the end of the year.
Erling Haaland assists
Haaland’s primary job is to put the ball into the back of the net; there is no getting away from that. It’s what he was brought in to do and it’s what he does best.
However, while fans might think of him as a pure goals machine, the Norwegian dynamo has proven that he is more than capable of playing as a facilitator when required.
For example, while he was breaking goalscoring records galore last season, he also provided eight Premier League assists for his team, which is more than the likes of Jack Grealish, Dejan Kulusevski, Martin Odegaard and Son Heung-min.
Erling Haaland’s dad
While the name Haaland is now firmly associated with Erling, that wasn’t always the case. In fact, before the former Bryne FK man was tearing defences apart for fun, most English fans associated the name with his father, Alf-Inge Haaland.
While Alf-Inge was certainly not at the same level as his son, he was still a decent player and enjoyed a reasonably successful playing career that included spells at Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Manchester City.
The Sky Blues signed Haaland from the Peacocks in June 2000 for a fee of £2.5m, and while the side were relegated that same season, he was given the captain’s armband at points throughout the campaign.
However, one of the main things Alf-Inge is remembered for happened towards the end of this first season with City: his clash with Roy Keane.
The Irish midfielder was out for revenge after Haaland had allegedly mocked him for an injury he sustained against Leeds in 1997. So when both players were going for the ball in the closing moments of the derby four years later, the tenacious midfielder kicked his opponent, damaging his knee.
While the City captain did play some football again after the incident, he implied that Keane ended his career in an interview with the Daily Mail six years later, saying: “The knee still hurts, that isn’t going to go away. I have to accept that. Did that tackle end my career? Well, I never played a full game again, did I? It seems like a great coincidence, don’t you think?”
Erling Haaland’s age
He might be dominating the toughest league in world football, but Erling Haaland is still just 23 years old.
The City striker was born on July 21st, 2000, in Leeds, West Yorkshire. He was born in England, and at the time of his birth, Alfie was still playing for Leeds United.
He moved back to Norway with his family in 2004 after his father left Manchester City.
Erling Haaland’s nationality
He may have been born in England and spent the first few years of his life here, but Erling Haaland has always been clear on his nationality: he’s Norwegian.
There were plenty of rumours in 2019 that the prolific goalscorer might end up choosing England over Norway when it came to playing international football, but those rumours were firmly put to bed when he made his competitive senior debut for the Scandinavian country in May 2019 against Malta.
However, in an interview he gave in November 2022, Haaland revealed what could have been had his father stayed in England for just a little bit longer: “I lived in Norway for such a long time, so then it was natural for me to choose Norway.
“You never know how it would be if maybe my father played longer in England or whatever, maybe I would be English… I don’t know. But I’m Norwegian and I’m proud of it.”
England’s loss is clearly Norway’s gain, though, as the City man is already the country’s second-highest goalscorer and is just six goals behind the leader, Jorgen Juve.
Erling Haaland’s height
Haaland seemingly has it all when it comes to physical characteristics; speed, power, and size.
The Norwegian goal machine stands at a massive 1.94m, or 6 foot 4 inches tall, meaning that of all the forwards currently in the Premier League, there are only three taller than him in Sasa Kalajdzic, Kieffer Moore and Ademola Ola-Adebomi, while Everton’s Beto is the same height.
In fact, there are only 15 outfield players that are taller than Haaland in the entire league, per worldfootball.net.
Erling Haaland’s girlfriend
Haaland might be one of the most famous sports stars on the planet at the moment, but he has managed to keep his private life, well, private for the most part.
Nobody really knew who his girlfriend was until he was spotted on holiday in Marbella, Spain with Isabel Haugseng Johansen in November 2022.
Just like her boyfriend, the 19-year-old is a professional footballer, playing for Norwegian side Bryne Fotballklubb.
According to The Sun, the pair met when they were both part of the Norwegian club’s youth system and were friends for years before they started dating.
Erling Haaland’s song
Every star player needs a good song that fans can serenade them with from the stands, and Erling Haaland is no different.
The goalscorer’s song is based on the Eurodisco song ‘Moskau’ by Dschinghis Khan, and it’s a banger.
Lyrics
“Haaland, Haaland
He’s a blue just like his dad
Now he’s at the Etihad
Ha ha ha Haaland, hey!
Haaland, Haaland
Came to us from Germany
He’s here to win the Champions League
Ha ha ha Haaland, hey!
Haaland, Haaland
Yorkshire-born Norwegian lad
Roy Keane tried to kill his dad
Ha ha ha Haaland, Hey!”