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PREMIER LEAGUE

Erling Haaland statue stolen after complaints it doesn’t look like him

The three-meter-high effigy was built on the trunk of a century-old tree and they suspect that a man with a crane pulled it out at night.

Update:
Erling Haaland statue stolen after complaints it doesn’t look like him

The gigantic statue of Erling Haaland has been stolen after constant complaints about how little resemblance it bore to the footballer. The sculpture was 10 feet tall and had been carved entirely from a tree trunk weighing almost a tonne, but a disgruntled fan reportedly used a crane to rip it out overnight. It was located in a privileged enclave above a store in Bryne, his parents’ hometown in Norway and where he grew up from the age of three.

Tree sculpted Haaland stolen

The effigy depicted the Manchester City player wearing the Norwegian kit with the iconic number 9. At his feet, a ball and the DFB Pokal trophy that he won with Borussia Dortmund before his transfer to Pep Guardiola’s team. The idea of immortalizing Haaland in this way came from the businessman Tore Sivertsen, who invested €12,000 to commission the statue... although even he finally admitted that it was very ugly.

Haaland statue in Bryne, Norway
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Haaland statue in Bryne, Norway

Two weeks ago, the work by wood sculptor Kjetil Barane was placed on the site and Sivertsen’s plans included an auction supposedly to fund a hospital in Tanzania, but it all fell apart following its sudden disappearance. It should be noted that the effigy had been made from a hundred-year-old trunk and that the sculptor took a year to finish the project.

"Erling is not a handsome boy"

In statements made by the British tabloid The Sun, Sivertsen has defended Haaland’s sculpture as a work of art despite the fact that it does not look too much like the Norwegian footballer.

“We are all enormously proud of Erling. I thought it would be good to commission a statue to pay homage to him.

“However, some have complained that he is too ugly, but let’s face it, Erling is not a pretty boy.

“But I was still surprised that someone decided to steal it. I accept that it may not be to everyone’s taste, but I like it. It is a work of art rather than a realistic representation of Erling Haaland.