How Erling Haaland learned from Cristiano Ronaldo on YouTube

Erling Haaland finished just behind Lionel Messi in the 2023 Ballon d’Or and has taken the world by storm with an immediate impact at Manchester City, where he has won everything already, including the long-awaited Champions League.

It is clear that the Norwegian striker is destined for greatness, as the 23-year-old has already established himself among football’s elite and will undoubtedly continue to break scoring records after breaking the record for most goals in a Premier League season in 2022-23. The goalscoring machine has admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo was his inspiration as a No 9, as he used to examine the movement of the Portuguese forward.

Haaland on Ronaldo

“I remember always watching him (Cristiano Ronaldo) on YouTube because of his movements in the box; he used to make two or three moves before attacking the space he wanted to be in,” Haaland told TV2.

“How he moved, his movement and how he managed to develop his game. You look at his years at Manchester United and his first years at Real Madrid until he became more of a centre-forward at Madrid. It was unbelievable how he did it, but also how he scored goals. The little movements in the box and being able to trick defenders,” he added in praise of the Portuguese.

Haaland out for Scotland clash

Haaland came on in the second half of Norway’s friendly win over the Faroe Islands, but finished the game with a knock and, via his own social media, revealed that he will not play against Scotland on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, I’m missing the game against Scotland. Wishing the boys all the best. Now treatment and trying to get back asap,” he posted on his X account.