Erling Haaland was seen joking around with a Manchester United fan covering the club’s badge while taking a photo with the fan.
Erling had a season to remember in his debut year with Manchester City.
The striker scored 52 goals in 53 appearances this season. He broke the all-time Premier League goalscoring record for a single season with 36 goals. And it took him just his debut season to do that. Haaland was the top scorer in the Champions League as well with 12 goals.
Aside from the statistics, he has also helped City win a glorious treble. They have won the Champions League, their maiden title, the FA Cup, and the Premier League. Haaland is now seen as the only competition to Messi’s bid to win another Ballon d’Or.
Erling Haaland mocks Manchester United with Badge Cover-up
As the club season officially ended, the Norwegian then linked up with his international team as part of Norway’s Euro 2024 qualifiers. After losing 2-1 to Scotland and being booed by his own fans, the striker then scored twice on Tuesday to beat Cyprus 3-1.
After the game, Haaland met with his fans outside the stadium in his homeland. There he was confronted by a young fan wearing a Manchester United jersey who wanted a picture with his favorite soccer star.
As seen by a video from tv2sport, the Norwegian agreed to take a photo, but as he was posing he quickly and playfully covered the young fan’s club badge on the jersey. He then asked the photographer to click the picture again as well, as he didn’t want the badge of his team’s rivals to be in the same frame as him. After the photo session ended, as he walked away, he jokingly said to the fan, “Get yourself a new shirt!”
Erling Haaland had to cover up the Man Utd badge before taking a photo with a young fan 🤣
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 21, 2023
(via @tv2sport) pic.twitter.com/GUrusn7GWQ
The whole incident was playful and intended as a joke showcasing the Premier League topscorer’s humorous side. However, it also showed where his loyalties lie and that he will passionately support his team even off the field.
Could United have signed Haaland?
However, the whole incident seems ironic considering Haaland was actually close to joining United at one point instead of City.
When the striker was still a young, undiscovered star playing for the Norwegian club Molde, United had a chance to acquire him. His manager at the time happened to be another Norwegian legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has claimed he told the Man United to sign Erling Haaland for just £4 million 😳 pic.twitter.com/t2b1iuFWED
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) May 13, 2023
When Solskjaer eventually became the manager of Manchester United, he suggested the club buy the young star. His transfer at the time would have cost only £4 million.
However, the deal failed due to the club’s executive vice chairman at the time Ed Woodward. He refused to allow a release clause into Haaland’s potential contract to strictly tie him down at Old Trafford.
This led to Haaland instead choosing Borussia Dortmund that summer, who allowed a reported £63 million release clause in his contract. This led to Haaland eventually joining Manchester City who paid his release clause.
If a deal with United had materialized, we could have seen Erling Haaland on the pitch for City’s dreaded rivals Manchester United.
