To soccer (ahem, football) fans, Erling Haaland needs no introduction. The lumbering Norwegian striker tore through Bundesliga defenses time and time again before joining Manchester City in 2022. Though the “Cityzens” had already won the Premier League four of the previous five seasons, the addition of Haaland took them to new heights as the bleach-blonde striker poured in a record 35 goals in his first campaign. He followed that with another 31 in 2023-24, leading City to an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title.
This summer, Haaland has introduced himself to the rest of the world as he has led Norway—now the 2026 World Cup’s de-facto Cinderella—to a quarterfinal clash with mighty England. Before Saturday’s showdown, however, Haaland was spotted getting some much-needed R&R … on the golf course.
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Here at Golf Digest, we are obviosuly excited that Haaland shares our passion for the game of golf, but his father Alfe-Inge “Alfie” Haaland is probably even happier. Though Alfie Haaland was also a professional footballer, playing In the Premier League for clubs like Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and, you guessed it, Manchester City, the younger Haaland revealed in a recent video on his YouTube channel that his dad actually wanted him to be a pro golfer instead of a soccer player.
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"It's [golf] a good combination sport with football," Haaland's father explains in the video. "Actually I wanted him more to play golf than football, but he probably chose right [laughter]"
"He wanted me to become a professional golfer," Haaland chimed in. "But he didn't manage to do it!"
Funnily enough, Haaland’s father, who also stars in the video, is the better golfer of the two, while his son has already eclipsed his on-pitch accomplishments. That’s not the way Alfie drew it up on paper, but something tells us there are no regrets in the Haaland household this summer.
Source: Yahoo Entertainment
