Erling Haaland

Early life

Erling Braut Haaland was born on 21 July 2000 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, while his father Alf-Inge Haaland was playing football for Leeds United. As a result, Haaland grew up as a supporter of Leeds. In 2004, at age three, he moved to Bryne, his parents' hometown in Norway.

His mother, Gry Marita Braut, was a national heptathlon champion in Norway in the 1990s. In addition to football, Haaland participated in various other sports as a child, including handball, golf, and track and field. He also reportedly achieved a world record in his age category for the standing long jump when he was five, with a recorded distance of 1.63 metres (5 ft 4 in).

Club career

Bryne

Haaland started playing at the academy of his hometown club Bryne at the age of five. Five of the players from this youth team went on play on Norway youth national teams. During the 2015 and 2016 seasons, he played for Bryne 2 (Bryne's reserve team) in the Norwegian fourth tier, scoring 18 goals in 18 matches. The following season he scored his first career hat-trick at the age of 16. In May 2016, Gaute Larsen was fired as Bryne manager, and youth coach Berntsen was promoted to caretaker manager. Having worked closely with Haaland in other youth teams, the interim manager handed the teenager his first start, three months before his 16th birthday. His first game with Bryne FK was a second-tier 1. divisjon match against Ranheim on 12 May.

After initially being deployed as a winger, Berntsen put Haaland in his favoured central role as a striker after a few matches. Although he failed to score in his breakthrough season at Bryne, Haaland was offered a trial by German club TSG Hoffenheim before eventually moving to Molde to play under Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Haaland made 16 senior appearances for Bryne.

Molde

On 1 February 2017, Molde announced the signing of the 16-year-old Haaland. He made his debut for the club on 26 April in a Norwegian Cup match against Volda TI, scoring once in a 3–2 win. Haaland's debut in the Eliteserien came on 4 June. He came on as a substitute in the 71st minute against Sarpsborg 08, and he received a yellow card within two minutes. On 6 August, Haaland scored the winning goal against Tromsø IL, his first goal in the league. On 17 September, he scored the winning goal as Molde defeated Viking FK 3–2. After the game, Haaland received criticism from his teammate Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson for celebrating his goal towards Viking supporters in a "provoking" manner. Haaland finished his first season at Molde with four goals in 20 appearances.

On 1 July 2018, Haaland scored four goals in the opening 21 minutes against Brann, securing his team a 4–0 victory over the unbeaten league leaders at the time. After the match, Molde manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær compared Haaland's style of play to Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku, and said the club had rejected several bids for the striker from different clubs. In the following match a week later, Haaland continued his scoring run with two goals against Vålerenga in a 5–1 win. He scored his first goal in UEFA competition on 26 July, converting a penalty in Molde's 3–0 Europa League qualifying victory against KF Laçi. Due to a sprained ankle, Haaland did not participate in Molde's last three league matches of the season. For his performances in the 2018 Eliteserien, Haaland received the Eliteserien Breakthrough of the Year award. He finished the 2018 season as Molde's top goalscorer, scoring 16 goals in 30 matches across all competitions.

Red Bull Salzburg

On 19 August 2018, Austrian Bundesliga champions Red Bull Salzburg announced that Haaland would join the club on 1 January 2019, signing a five-year contract. The Athletic's Phil Hay would later reveal that prior to his move to Salzburg, Haaland was also subject of an offer from his father's former club Leeds United. He made his debut for the club on 17 February, the 2018–19 Austrian Cup quarter-finals against Wiener Neustadt, and scored his first goal on 12 May in the Austrian Bundesliga 2–1 win over LASK.

On 19 July, he scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 7–1 Austrian Cup win against SC-ESV Parndorf, and followed this up with his first hat-trick in the league on 10 August, scoring three in a 5–2 victory against Wolfsberger AC. He got a third hat-trick for Salzburg on 14 September in a 7–2 victory over TSV Hartberg; this was the sixth consecutive league game Haaland had scored in, with 11 total goals. Three days later, Haaland made his debut in the UEFA Champions League against Genk, where he scored three goals in the first half of an eventual 6–2 victory, his fourth overall hat-trick for Salzburg, becoming the only player to score a first-half hat-trick on competition debut.

In his next two matches of the Champions League season, Haaland recorded a goal against Liverpool at Anfield and a further two against Napoli, becoming only the second teenager after Karim Benzema in the history of the competition to score in each of his first three appearances. His six goals were also the most scored by any player in their first three Champions League matches. After converting a penalty in Salzburg's reverse fixture against Napoli, Haaland became the first teenager to score in his first four matches in the competition, and only the fourth player of any age to achieve this feat, following Zé Carlos, Alessandro Del Piero and Diego Costa. He then scored all three goals in Salzburg's 3–0 victory at Wolfsberger AC on 10 November, recording his fifth hat-trick of the season and his second against the club.

On 27 November, Haaland came off the bench to score another goal against Genk, joining Del Piero, Serhiy Rebrov, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski as the only players to score in the first five matches of a Champions League group stage, and becoming the first teenager to score in five consecutive matches in the competition. However, he would fail to find the net in Salzburg's final group match against Liverpool, as his team lost 2–0 and were eliminated from the competition. This would prove to be Haaland's final game for the club; he departed Salzburg having recorded 29 goals, with 28 of these coming in only 22 appearances made during the 2019–20 season.

Borussia Dortmund

Despite being a reported target of Manchester United and Juventus, Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund confirmed the signing of Haaland on 29 December 2019, three days before the winter transfer window opened, for a fee reported to be in the region of €20 million, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.

Haaland made his debut for Dortmund away to FC Augsburg on 18 January 2020, coming on as a second-half substitute and scoring a hat-trick within 23 minutes in a 5–3 win. This made him only the second player in Dortmund history after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to score three goals on their Bundesliga debut. Six days later, Haaland once again came off the bench, making his second club appearance in Dortmund's match against FC Köln. He scored after 12 minutes and netted a second goal 10 minutes later, contributing to a 5–1 victory. Haaland became the first Bundesliga player to score five goals in his opening two matches, as well as the fastest player to reach that tally (56 minutes played). Despite being on the pitch in the league for only an hour, he won January's Bundesliga Player of the Month award. Haaland scored twice against Union Berlin on 1 February, becoming the first player in history to score seven goals in their first three Bundesliga matches.

On 18 February, Haaland scored both Dortmund goals in their 2–1 first leg victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16. This brought his total to 10 Champions League goals for the 2019–20 campaign in only his eighth appearance in the competition, including the eight he had scored for Salzburg in the group stage. Dortmund lost 2–0 in the return leg on 11 March, as Haaland saw elimination from the competition for a second time in the same season. Following the Bundesliga's return on 16 May in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Haaland scored Dortmund's opener of their 4–0 Revierderby win over Schalke 04, his tenth goal of the Bundesliga season. On 20 June, he scored both goals in a 2–0 win against RB Leipzig to secure second place for Dortmund, which would lead to Champions League football in the following season. Haaland concluded his 2019–20 campaign with 44 goals in 40 club appearances across all competitions played for both Salzburg and Dortmund.

On 19 September 2020, in Dortmund's first match of the new season, Haaland scored two goals in a 3–0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. He scored his team's equaliser in their 2–3 Der Klassiker defeat to Bayern Munich in the DFL-Supercup on 30 September, and again found the net against Bayern when the sides met in the league on 7 November, with Dortmund losing 2–3 once more. On 21 November, Haaland scored four goals in 32 minutes of a 5–2 away victory against Hertha BSC. These five goals in November saw him crowned the Bundesliga Player of the Month for a second time.

Manchester City

On 10 May 2022, Premier League club Manchester City announced they had reached a deal to sign Haaland after activating his €60 million (£51.2 million) release clause. The deal was formalised on 13 June, with City confirming that Haaland would be joining the club on 1 July on a five-year contract. Haaland scored in his first appearance for the club in a preseason friendly against Bayern Munich at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on 23 July 2022. It was the only goal of the game. He made his competitive debut seven days later, playing 90 minutes of a 3–1 defeat to Liverpool in the 2022 FA Community Shield.

Haaland scored twice on his league debut against West Ham United on 7 August 2022, the only goals of a 2–0 away victory. On 27 August, he scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a 4–2 win against Crystal Palace, and recorded his second, a perfect hat-trick, four days later in a 6–0 win against Nottingham Forest. This made Haaland the fastest individual in Premier League history to score two hat-tricks, beating the previous record by 14 matches; he was later voted Premier League Player of the Month for August, his first month playing in the league.

On 6 September, Haaland made his Champions League debut for the club, scoring twice against Sevilla and becoming the first player to score 25 goals in their first 20 Champions League appearances. He became the first player to score more than one goal on competition debut for three different clubs. In City's second group stage match a week later against his former club Borussia Dortmund, Haaland scored an acrobatic effort late in the contest to secure his side a 2–1 comeback victory. His winner was subsequently voted Champions League Goal of the Week by fans, and would later go on to be selected as the competition's Goal of the Season by UEFA's Technical Observer panel.

On 2 October, Haaland became the first player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick in three successive home matches during City's 6–3 derby win against Manchester United, additionally earning two assists. He also became the quickest player in Premier League history to score three hat-tricks, doing so in eight league matches and surpassing the previous record of 48 set by Michael Owen in 1998, as well as halving Alan Shearer's record of scoring three hat-tricks in a ten-match spell set during the 1994–95 season. Haaland's two goals in City's 3–1 away win over Leeds United on 28 December took his tally to 20 goals in 14 league matches, becoming the fastest player in history to reach 20 Premier League goals and beating Sunderland's Kevin Phillips' previous record by seven matches. On 22 January 2023, he scored a fourth hat-trick of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers, giving him a total of 25 Premier League goals after just 19 matches; this surpassed the top scorers of the previous season, Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min, who both scored 23 league goals across the entire campaign.

International career

2015–2018: Youth level

Haaland plays for Norway, and has represented them at various age groups. On 27 March 2018, while with the Norway under-19 side, Haaland scored a hat-trick against Scotland in a 5–4 victory, helping his country secure qualification to the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. On 22 July 2018, Haaland scored a penalty against Italy in a 1–1 draw during the tournament finals. On 30 May 2019, Haaland scored nine goals in the Norway under-20 team's 12–0 win against Honduras at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Lublin, Poland. This was Norway's biggest ever win at U-20 level, as well as Honduras' heaviest ever defeat. Haaland also set a new U-20 World Cup record for most goals scored by a single player in a match, with the result additionally being the biggest win by any team in the history of the tournament. Despite the Norwegians being eliminated in the group stage, and Haaland not scoring in any other matches at the tournament, he still won the Golden Boot as the competition's top scorer.

2019–2021: Senior debut and first major tournament

Born in Leeds, Haaland was eligible to play for England, but only wished to play for Norway according to coach Gareth Southgate.

On 28 August 2019, Haaland was named by manager Lars Lagerbäck to the Norway senior team squad to face Malta and Sweden in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches, debuting on 5 September 2019 against the former opponent. On 4 September 2020, Haaland scored his first senior international goal for Norway in a 1–2 loss against Austria in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B. Three days later, he scored two goals in a 5–1 victory against Northern Ireland.

On 11 October, Haaland scored his first international hat-trick in Norway's 4–0 victory over Romania in a Nations League B match, bringing his tally for the senior team to six goals in six matches played.

2021–2024: Consecutive Nations League top scorer and all-time Norway top scorer

During the September 2021 international break, Haaland scored five goals in three World Cup qualification matches, including a second hat-trick for Norway in a 5–1 victory against Gibraltar. With six goals in League B between June and September 2022, he finished as the joint-top scorer of the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.

Haaland's two goals in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Cyprus on 12 October 2023 brought his international tally to 27 goals in 27 appearances, surpassing Einar Gundersen as Norway's second-highest all-time top scorer. On 5 June 2024, Haaland scored a third hat-trick for his country in a 3–0 friendly win against Kosovo, bringing him within three goals of Norwegian top scorer Jørgen Juve.

On 10 October 2024, Haaland scored twice in a 3–0 Nations League win over Slovenia, reaching 34 international goals to become Norway's all-time top scorer at the age of just 24, and overtaking Juve's record that had stood since 1937. On 17 November, he recorded a fourth international hat-trick in a 5–0 win against Kazakhstan, helping Norway clinch promotion to League A of the Nations League for the first time.

2025–2026: First World Cup

On 6 June 2025, Haaland scored Norway's final goal in their 3–0 World Cup qualifying win against Italy, securing the nation's first victory over the Italians in 25 years. On 9 September, he scored five goals and assisted a further two in an 11–1 win over Moldova, becoming the first male European player to record five goals in a World Cup qualifier since Hans Krankl in 1977. A month later, on 11 October, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Israel, becoming the fastest player in the 21st century to reach 50 international goals, breaking Harry Kane's record by achieving the milestone in just 46 matches compared to Kane's 71. He became the sixth player to reach 50 international goals in under 50 appearances. On 16 November, Haaland scored twice in a 4–1 away win over Italy, securing his nation's place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with eight victories, marking their first World Cup appearance since 1998. Haaland finished the World Cup qualifying campaign with 16 goals, scoring in all eight of Norway's matches, and equalling Robert Lewandowski's record tally from the 2018 qualifiers for a single UEFA World Cup qualifying campaign. Haaland also became the second player to score in eight consecutive World Cup qualifying matches, behind Pauleta, who scored in nine consecutive qualifiers for Portugal. He equalled Abdul Ghani Minhat's record of scoring in 11 consecutive international appearances, achieved in 1962.

On 16 June 2026, Haaland made his FIFA World Cup debut against Iraq, scoring twice and being named Player of the Match in a 4–1 victory. He equalled the record for most goals scored by a Norwegian player at the tournament, jointly held by Kjetil Rekdal. In Norway's second group stage match on 23 June, Haaland again scored twice and was named Player of the Match in a 3–2 win over Senegal, becoming his country's all-time top scorer at the World Cup, and securing Norway's qualification to the knockout stage. These two goals also made him the sixth player in the history of the World Cup to score multiple goals in each of his first two tournament appearances.

In Norway's round of 32 match against the Ivory Coast on 30 June, Haaland scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory, becoming the first Norwegian player to score in each of his first three World Cup matches. It was also Haaland's 60th international goal; coming after 53 appearances, he became the fastest player to reach this benchmark since Gerd Müller in 1973. On 5 July, he scored two goals and was named Player of the Match against Brazil, leading Norway to a 2–1 victory and their first ever World Cup quarter-final. With these goals, he extended his record of scoring in consecutive competitive international appearances to 14 and became the first European player since Christian Vieri in the 1998 World Cup to score in his first four appearances at the tournament. In the quarter-finals against England, Haaland fouled Elliot Anderson, failed to score, and was replaced by Jørgen Strand Larsen for the final 15 minutes of extra time, with Norway going on to lose 2–1. Norway head coach Ståle Solbakken later stated that Haaland came off due to exhaustion and a dead leg.

Player profile

Style of play

A prolific goalscorer who has been regarded as one of the leading players of his generation, Haaland is often described as a complete centre forward. He uses his sizeable frame to hold play up effectively and involve others. He has the pace and clever movement to run in behind, he can dribble and create, and he can finish with both feet and his head. He usually comes deep to collect the ball to help his team build play, often looking to spread the ball wide for a teammate, before turning and sprinting towards goal. He sometimes comes too deep for the defenders to follow him; as such he has the awareness to turn on the ball and create from a forward-facing position. In the penalty area he makes small, sharp movements to spot an opportunity for a teammate to attempt to find him in space, and can change the line on which he is running and accelerate into that space, making him extremely difficult for defenders to read.

Haaland uses his body well when playing with his back to goal, protecting the ball effectively as he tries to bring it under control. He uses his strength to secure possession when under pressure and is also effective in providing his team's defenders with some respite following a clearance. His creativity is most apparent when he drifts into the left inside channel. His primary aim is always to get a shot off, but he also has the vision and skill to pick out a delayed run from midfield in the centre. His ability to carry the ball at pace also helps create for others, especially on the counter-attack. Even though he is less involved in possession than a typical striker, his calmness, patience, timing, and off-the-ball movement have a huge impact in build-up plays.

Haaland idolises Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristiano Ronaldo, but also cites Michu, Jamie Vardy, Sergio Agüero and Robin van Persie as inspirations, and credits Virgil van Dijk and Sergio Ramos as two of the toughest defenders he has played against.

After scoring a goal, Haaland is known to perform a "meditation" celebration, in which he assumes the lotus position; the celebration has been featured in the FIFA series of video games.

Reception

After his record breaking first season in England, Gary Neville proclaimed that Haaland is "truly unique" and that he has the skill and strength of Wayne Rooney and the talent and finishing of Harry Kane and Ronaldo. In 2022, Jürgen Klopp labelled Haaland as the "best striker in the world" and stated that "physically he sets new standards, the combination of being really physical and technical and sensational awareness, his orientation on the pitch is exceptional, he knows always where the decisive gaps are, barely offside". His manager at City, Pep Guardiola, opined in 2023 that Haaland had the potential to get even better. In 2024, FIFPRO declared him to be "the deadliest striker in football today". For his achievements, he has also been hailed as the greatest Norwegian player of all time.

Outside football

Social media

In 2023, Haaland gained recognition on social media after posting on Instagram that he had "raw-dogged" a seven-hour flight, sitting through it with no entertainment, food, water, or sleep. In 2025, Haaland launched his own YouTube channel that aimed to showcase his life off the pitch. Its first video included a look at him grilling steak and recovering in an ice bath, and subsequent videos includes fan experiences at Halloween and playing golf. By 2026, the total number of views to videos on Haaland's channel had surpassed 100 million.

He also has a Snapchat account, regularly posting vlogs during Norway's run in the 2026 World Cup, including one from Texas where he purchased a cowboy hat. Following the World Cup, Haaland was described as a "social media phenomenon", with his physical appearance and persona leading to hundreds of memes.

In 2016, Haaland and his Norway under-17 teammates Erik Botheim and Erik Tobias Sandberg released a rap single entitled "Kygo Jo" under the group name Flow Kingz, with Haaland using the name "Lyng". The music video has over 28 million views on YouTube as of September 2026. Following his country's 2–1 win over Brazil in the 2026 World Cup round of 16, Norwegian DJ Kygo released a remix of the original 2016 track, which spent 2 weeks at the number 1 position on the Norwegian music chart, in addition to charting on the national music charts of 7 other countries.

Miscellaneous

In December 2025, Haaland and his father purchased the 1594 edition of Snorri Sturluson's chronicles at an auction for 1.3 million Norwegian kroner, setting a national record for a book sale in Norway. He later donated the volume, which details the history of medieval Norse kings, to his home municipality Time for display in a library, saying he wanted local residents to be able to read about historical figures from their area.

In February 2026, Haaland was listed on The Sunday Times tax list with an estimated £16.9 million. Haaland is a practitioner of meditation. He also owns a large collection of luxury handbags, including bags by Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Goyard.

Haaland is set to make his feature film voice acting debut, playing a Viking also named Haaland in the animated film ViQueens. The movie is scheduled for release around Christmas 2026. It is directed and co-written by Harald Zwart, who also directed The Karate Kid (2010). Zwart said "Erling has already become a kind of real-life Viking icon around the world".

In July 2026, Peru's National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC) reported that 468 Peruvians had the surname Haaland and 91 children had been registered with his full name, Erling Haaland. The increase was linked to Norway's run at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where Haaland emerged as one of the tournament's standout players. In a television broadcast, a spokesman of the registry noted the player's popularity in Peru, joking that "Haaland is Peruvian".

Personal life

Family and name

Haaland is the son of the Norwegian former footballer Alf-Inge Haaland and former heptathlete Gry Marita Braut. On his mother's side, his first cousins Jonatan Braut Brunes, Emma Braut Brunes, and Albert Braut Tjåland are also professional footballers, as was his great-uncle Gabriel Høyland.

He changed the spelling of his surname from Håland to Haaland in 2019, stating that this was due to him moving outside of Norway and that he wanted an easier name for international fans. While his Manchester City shirts simply use the name Haaland, he has included his mother's surname for international appearances, so his name appears on his Norway jersey as "Braut Haaland". It is common in Norwegian culture for people to include both maternal and paternal names in their surname.

In December 2024, Haaland and his girlfriend Isabel Haugseng Johansen had their first child, a son.

Ahead of the 2026–27 Premier League season, Haaland debuted a change in appearance, shaving his signature long hair in favour of a close-cropped buzz cut.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 September 2026

International

As of match played 11 July 2026

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg

Austrian Bundesliga: 2018–19

Austrian Cup: 2018–19

Borussia Dortmund

DFB-Pokal: 2020–21

Manchester City

Premier League: 2022–23, 2023–24

FA Cup: 2022–23, 2025–26

EFL Cup: 2025–26

FA Community Shield: 2024

UEFA Champions League: 2022–23

UEFA Super Cup: 2023

Individual

Ballon d'Or runner-up: 2023

European Golden Shoe: 2022–23

UEFA Men's Player of the Year: 2022–23

UEFA Champions League top scorer: 2020–21, 2022–23

Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2020–21

Premier League Player of the Season: 2022–23

Premier League Golden Boot: 2022–232023–242025–26

Premier League Fan Team of the Season: 2023–24, 2025–26

FIFA Men's World 11: 2024

FIFA World Cup Dream XI: 2026