ALL ABOUT – Erling Haaland: ten things maybe you don't know

These are ten things about Erling Braut Haaland you may not know about him. From his personal life to his life on the pitch, there is more than meets the eye than what we see every week.

1. His parents were both excellent athletes: his mother, Gry Marita Braun competed in the heptatlon at the international level; his father, Alf-Hinge Haaland was a professional footballer who played, among others, at Leeds in the English first division. 

2. He was born in England, in Leeds. He moved to Norway when he was 3 years old and spent his childhood and adolescence there. 

3. Haaland's first love wasn’t football. He played handball as a kid and according to his coaches he could have become a professional player

4. In 2006, as a 5-year-old, he broke a world record in long-jump for his age group, recording a 1.63M jump. 

5. Erling's brother, Astor, was also a footballer. When asked about it, he always says jokingly that he’s the reason why Erling became so good.

6. His transfer value underwent one of the greatest one-year increases in transfer market’s history. In 2019, when he signed for Red Bull Salzburg, his market value was just 5M Euros. One year later, when he signed with Borussia Dortmund, his value was 50M Euros, which means his value had multiplied tenfold. 

7. He spent 500,000 Euros at a restaurant in the Greek island of Mykonos, tipping the staff a staggering 30,000 Euros. What a payday!

8. He is the first player in the history of Europe’s five main leagues to score his first five goals in less than an hour after his debut

9. He is the fastest player to reach 10 goals in Champions League play, as he did it in just 7 matches. 

10. He practices meditation in the Buddhist tradition. He does so because he says it calms his mind; that’s why he often celebrates his goals by assuming what is known as the “Lotus meditation pose”.