Erling Haaland admits he is an avid fan of football in his free time, but his girlfriend Isabelle Hausen-Johansen is fed up with the way the sport dominates their household. The striker appeared on The Rest Is Football podcast with Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker and showed a glimpse of his passion for the game as he detailed how he watched Manchester United’s 1-1 home draw with West Ham last Thursday night.
When asked if he watches soccer, the 25-year-old replied: “I watch soccer. “Well, I’m a soccer fan, so I watch all kinds of soccer. In fact, yesterday we were having dinner and I checked to see if there were any games. Manchester United and West Ham are playing. Let’s put it on. My daughter said, ‘I’m tired of soccer. We watch soccer all the time.’ And I’m like, oh, that’s why we’re sitting here. ”
Haaland has been dating 21-year-old Isabelle for several years, and they first met in Norway, when he was a striker at his first club, Bryn FK.
It was rather revealing that Haaland’s own partner complained that the football was being played “all the time” and shows how much dedication the striker has to the beautiful game.
While that may seem like the norm for professional soccer players, it’s not necessarily the reality. This is because some people simply consider it a job and do not maintain the same level of enthusiasm for watching football.
Arsenal’s Ben White is a case in point, with the Premier League star admitting he doesn’t have much interest in watching sport or following its narrative.
Haaland, by contrast, clearly does, and this could fuel his obsession with scoring goals and breaking records as much as possible.
“It’s like this when you play with Messi and Ronaldo. His influence is huge,” Pep Guardiola said last month when talking about Haaland’s quality.
“See the numbers for that player? Of course he’s at that level. Messi and Ronaldo have been at that level for 15 years, but this is that level. The first goal, the way he shot the ball, it was like, ‘I’m going to score.’
“He has that hungry spirit. It’s over the top. I said how incredibly coachable and manageable he is. I can be tough on Haaland at times, but he’s open-minded. He lives for the goal and sometimes the pressure doesn’t keep him going for 90 minutes, but that’s normal.”
Haaland, who has scored an impressive 144 goals in 166 appearances for City, will be keenly aware of the records he can achieve.
