Erling Haaland has came a long way: now tearing defenders to shreds in the Premier League with Manchester City, and international giants on the largest of stages with Norway at the 2026 World Cup.
The hulking Norwegian, who seemingly bodies defenders with ease, is the son of Alf-Inge Haaland, who played for Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Bryne.
As a result, Erling grew up a supporter of Leeds, and began his own footballing career with Bryne at youth level.
Who is Erling Haaland? Inside story of Norway and Manchester City striker hoping to dump England out of the 2026 World Cup
Haaland came through the Norwegian side's youth system from 2005 to 2016, before breaking into their first team in 2017. He moved to Molde, also in Norway, and repeated the process in 2019.
From there, the Norwegian alerted the wider world to his existence while playing with Red Bull Salzburg in the Bundesliga, where he bagged 29 goals in just 27 appearances.
Premier League fans might recall a certain game, against Liverpool in the 2019/20 season, when Haaland scored the third in a near comeback from 3-0 down against the title-winning Reds.
Jurgen Klopp's men scored via Mohamed Salah in the second half to win 4-3, but Haaland stamped his mark on the Champions League stage.
Shortly after, not before winning Footballer of the Year with Salzburg, Haaland packed his bags and moved to Borussia Dortmund, scoring an astounding 86 goals in 89 games, with England's Jude Bellingham his partner in crime for much of his stint.
Despite his physically imposing nature, and his scary goalscoring ability, his youth coach from Norway recently described him as a 'skinny little thing' as a child.
Espen Undheim revealed: "He loves the moments. He still thinks [like] a boy, and acts like a boy. That's very important to keep the hunger... he loved to score goals, as a young boy.
Haaland made the move to the Premier League, winning PFA Players' Player of the Year in his debut season with the Cityzens, and breaking the English top-flight's goal record in a 38-game season, previously held by Salah.
The Norwegian led City to a treble, and broke their Champions League title curse, then followed it up in 2023/24 with another Golden Boot and Premier League trophy.
For Norway, Haaland's still astonishing output has gone under the radar across his international career, but it has been present in droves.
At the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2019, the bagsman hit nine goals in one game, during a 12-0 victory over Honduras.
In World Cup qualifying ahead of the 2026 edition, Haaland found the back of the 16 times in eight matches, scoring five versus Moldova.
Among other career highlights was his screamer of a finish against PSG in the Champions League with Dortmund, which created a sound unlike any other as the ball hit net.
Haaland also bagged five in one Champions League game for City, in a 7-0 victory against RB Leipzig, en-route to an elusive European trophy lift with Pep Guardiola's men.
The Norwegian is one of the most prolific goal-scorers of all time, and it is almost certain he will end his career as the greatest, purest bagsman in football history.
