New Delhi: Erling Haaland has earned many monikers. To some, he is a “monster” for his towering 6 feet 5 inches frame and freakish athleticism, while others refer to him as “Barbie” for his flowing blonde hair. He is a “Viking” for the ferocity with which he strikes on the football pitch and terrorises the defenders. But for Indians, he is the Jaat of Norway.
In his interviews, the 25-year-old Haaland has already opened up about his retirement plans. He likely has another decade at the highest level in world football, but all he wants is to return to his village, become a farmer, feed cows and drive a tractor. This has charmed Indians so much that he has now earned a set of new Indian fans.
This is Haaland’s first World Cup, and he has already scored seven goals, just behind France’s Kylian Mbappe and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, heating the Golden Boot race in the tournament.
Haaland is the breakout star of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But there is more to him than football. This is about him—how humongous yet humble he is. He is the kind of guy who openly admits that he loves to eat. In his vlogs, Haaland can sound like an inspirational speaker. With a straight face, he talks about his skills and then posts a selfie with Shrek on Snapchat. Even the Chinese are creating fictional characters based on him.
The internet and the world cannot get enough of him.
Eat, sleep, goal
In the field, he is grumpy and aggressive. With Haaland, you never know when the next goal is coming. Just look at the first goal in the Norway vs Brazil knockout match held on 6 July. Even as others were chasing the ball, he was walking casually. And in the next minute, Haaland made a cutting run from behind the defender, outjumped the last man, swung his head, and sublimely placed the ball into the net.
His “walker approach” became viral on social media. He already started ‘walking on the pitch’—something Messi started doing when he was 32.
After the win against Brazil, he posted a series of photos on X, all celebrating Norway’s win. The first selfie has more than two million likes. And Haaland was not apologetic about them at all. He rounded off the celebrations by posting photos of himself hugging Brazilian attacker Neymar Jr.
Disclaimer: Do not touch Haaland’s hair and his colourful rubber band collection.
Well, each football legend is known for their aura. Haaland brings goofiness and playfulness.
Take him out of the pitch, and he is a Gen-Z pookie.
A few days later, Google rolled out a tribute to Scandinavian nations. Haaland, who seemed unaware of this fun caricature, posted on X, “One thing to do today… search my name on Google.”
Who would’ve thought, looking at this goal machine, that he is a softie who waters and takes care of Bonsai trees? He even moved it from the physio room to the steam room at Manchester City’s training ground, saying the plant “loves humidity.” It is his way to live stress-free. No wonder he is so calm while tackling all the memes made about him and his game.
An Instagram post drew parallels between him and spring onions.
Haaland left a funny comment—a GIF in which a dog is looking out of a car window and rolling his eyes. And the world again had its “aww” moment.
Even when he was compared with Majin Buu, the antagonist in a popular Japanese anime series Dragon Ball Z, the Norwegian player was ready with a quip. “I mean I don’t disagree”, he said.
With Haaland, people actually do not know what is coming next. A funny Snap or a sudden goal out of nowhere from outside the D-box.
Also read: 7 goals, 5 ways to score—Haaland becomes the most complete goalscorer in FIFA World Cup
‘I eat kebab pizza’
The “monster player” came into the limelight on social media this World Cup, when videos of him “eating” surfaced. An AI-generated video of him landed, eating with a teenager’s appetite. He moves up his head, and gets scared of his own reflection in the mirror.
A bizarre video made people on social media curious and amazed. But it was not even peak Haaland content. It was just starting out.
The internet was flooded with Haaland videos. People dug out his old video, where he is candid and unabashedly Haaland. Among them, the most fun was his love for food, peak workout and romance with long-time girlfriend Isabel Haugseng Johansen.
In several interviews and his vlogs on YouTube, the Man City striker has openly admitted his love for food. He consumes 6,000 calories in a day. Raw milk, a good Beef steak, beef heart and no processed food, with real ingredients. For him, coffee is a “superfood”. Every morning is for “good brew”.
He inspires millions with his workout routine from Manchester City’s training facility.
“Do I want to do this? No, I don’t.. Will I do it? Ya,” he said as he rode a cycling machine and watched his heart rate touch 150 BPM.
But who said Haaland cannot have a cheat day?
“I eat kebab pizza, it is my favourite”, he said in an interview. He is also a massive fan of Indian cuisine, frequently naming butter chicken, garlic naan, and lamb chops as his absolute favourite comfort foods.
His YouTube channel, still fairly new, is a peek into Haaland’s life. No one in their right mind would imagine that the man who looks so serious on the pitch could be this much of a cutie on the internet. Lover-boy Haaland drops heart emojis on his girlfriend’s Instagram posts and watches Hannah Montana.
A major part of his personality is randomness. The antics he pulls on social media send fans into a frenzy. Even now, Chinese fans cannot get enough of him. Currently, he enjoys more than 61 million followers on Instagram, which is more than Manchester City.
Also read: Erling Haaland gets Google tribute ahead of Norway-England clash in World Cup
‘Ha Ha Ha’ Haaland
Haaland was born in a family of athletes. It turns out Isabel, his partner, is also a former footballer.
Haaland’s mother Gry Marita Braut is a former Norwegian Heptathlon Champion. His father, Alf-Inge ‘Alfie’ Haaland, was a former Norwegian football player. He enjoyed a decade-long career playing as a defender and right-back in English Premier League clubs—Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Manchester City.
While his father has been a major influence in his football career, Haaland, in his interviews, credited his mother for the life teachings and his ‘pace’.
In fact, Haaland has his mother’s name written on his jersey—a tribute.
The footballer learnt how to stay alone. At the age of 16, his father brought him to Molde, Norway. Left alone for two days with food and cleaning items, teenager Haaland learnt how to cook, clean and do things alone.
“That’s when you learn, when you are thrown into it”, he said in his detailed vlog.
Growing up, he was a skinny Scandinavian who always had a knack for goals. Since childhood, he was funny, smiling and energetic.
At the age of eight, Haaland joined local club Bryne FK. It was during this time he met Espen Undheim, his youth coach. Among the thousands, he was the kid who would run like a maniac on the field.
Talking to CNN Sports, Undheim said, “What was special with him was that he was always looking to score, even if he wasn’t in a position where he could, he moved and tried to be in situations where he could score goals”.
Also read: Dear Lionel Messi, stop giving fans heart attacks in World Cup matches
Haaland’s road to glory
After spending nearly four years in the club, Haaland moved to FC Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. His performance with the club gave him a ticket to his U-20 international debut. Everyone was curious about the fresh face from Norway. FIFA still remembers this young boy scoring nine goals in the U-20 World Cup in 2019.
His career break came after German giants Borussia Dortmund signed him in 2020. Haaland had a historic tenure at the club, scoring 86 goals in 89 total appearances and providing 23 assists between January 2020 and May 2022.
This phenomenal run grabbed attention worldwide with Manchester City splurging 60 million Euros to sign the centre forward. In the 2022-2023 season, his debut season with the EPL giant, Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 appearances. He went on to become the UEFA Champions League player of the season with a staggering 12 goals. The mastermind behind his success was the Spanish mastermind Pep Guardiola.
The rise, however, began years before the EPL and Champions League glory. Among the many stops on his journey, there was another match against India, which people tend to forget.
On 19 June 2016, a 15-year-old Haaland travelled to Germany, where he played for the Norway U-16/U-17 national team against the India U-17 team. He scored the opening goal after a goalless first half as Norway beat India 2-0.
This is the first time the Norwegian team has reached the quarter-finals. And it is credited to Haaland. His team is “lucky” to have him. He has given an identity to the team that it did not have. The New Yorker described his game as a “Norwegian dream”.
“He plays soccer how Norwegians might dream that Norwegians play soccer”, they wrote.
On Saturday, Norway will face England in the quarter-final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And Haaland will be up against his former Borussia teammate and close friend Jude Bellingham. From scoring goals to sharing light moments on the pitch, the duo has come a long way, with many claiming the friendship will turn into “rivalry” in the 2026 FIFA World Cup due to the high-stakes elimination battle.
Till then, the Manchester City chant—”Ha, Ha, Ha, Haaland”—now echoes around the stadium and social media as Viking fans row their way to push Norway into the semi-final.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)