Erling Haaland, a striker for Man City, spoke candidly about his meditation routine and future goals while gracing the cover of GQ’s second annual global sports issue.
The £865,000-per-week Norwegian striker had an outstanding first season with the team, tallying 33 goals in 30 games played in all competitions.
The 22-year-old is now dabbling in fashion, making an appearance on the cover of GQ’s sports issue where he is shown letting his hair down while donning a £2,000 jacket and a £690 Givenchy sweater.
Another image in the January 31 publication shows him in all-white clothing with a jacket costing a whopping £3,800 and a jumper costing £325.
Haaland devotes more attention than most to the mental aspect of the game. He attracted some notice a few years ago for what has since become his trademark goal celebration: assuming the lotus position and closing his eyes, as if in a contemplative trance.
A wave of imitations, including one from the Paris Saint-Germain team in a Champions League match, followed the celebration.
When discussing meditation, Haaland stated: ‘I think it’s a really good thing.’
‘To relax, to try to not think too much. Because stress is not good for anyone. I hate to be stressed, and I try not to be stressed. But the concept of meditation is to try to let go of these kinds of thoughts. It’s really individual, but for me it’s worked really well.’
Haaland has previously uploaded pictures of himself wearing some striking attire on social media.
He once appeared in a black and white pajama attire while wishing users of his social media accounts a good holiday.
His romantic life is one aspect of his life about which he has never been transparent.
He was, however, spotted in November with his alleged girlfriend Isabel Haugseng Johansen after they had lunch there.
The Norwegian, who is considered as one of the top strikers in the world, spoke candidly about his aspirations for success with Man City and his own country in GQ.
He stated: ‘I will try to do everything in my power to win trophies here with Manchester City and try to be the game changer, my goal is to win the Champions League.’
‘So we’re not a big nation. But again you see at the World Cup small nations that do fantastic things.’
‘We hope to qualify (in 2026) that’s my biggest goal with them. Hopefully one day I’ll get to play knockout games with Norway.’
Erling Haaland
Erling Braut Haaland (born 21 July 2000) is a professional footballer from Norway who plays as a striker for both the Norway national team and Premier League club Manchester City.
He is renowned for his speed, strength, and finishing. He is regarded as one of the top players in the world.
Haaland played at the senior level for Bryne’s reserve and senior teams after progressing through the youth system.
He went to Molde in 2017 and spent two seasons there, playing for their reserve team as well.
Haaland won two league championships and one Austrian Cup before signing with Austrian Bundesliga team Red Bull Salzburg in January 2019.
He transferred to German Bundesliga team Borussia Dortmund in December 2019, where he won the DFB-Pokal in 2020–21. He joined Manchester City in 2022 for a sum of €60 million (£51.2 million).
Throughout his career, Haaland has broken numerous records and received numerous individual honors.
He made history by being the youngest youngster to score in five straight UEFA Champions League games during Salzburg’s 2019–20 season.
For the 2020–21 season, he led all Champions League scorers. Haaland was named the Bundesliga Player of the Season in 2021 and was a member of the FIFA FIFPro World11 in 2021. In 2020, he earned the Golden Boy award.
He has also set records while playing for Manchester City in the Premier League, being the fastest person to score two and three hat-tricks and the first player in league history to score three consecutive hat-tricks at home.
Haaland has competed for Norway at different levels of youth football.
He set a tournament record by scoring a tournament-high nine goals in a single game, earning him the Golden Boot at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In September 2019, he made his senior international debut.
