Erling Haaland Refuses to Be Compared to Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic Ahead of His EPL Debut

Erling Haaland Refuses to Be Compared to Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic Ahead of His EPL Debut

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:08 PM
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  • New Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has rejected claims that he craves the spotlight and attention ahead of his first Premier League game
  • Haaland will be in line to start for Pep Guardiola's side when they begin their title defence away to West Ham United on Sunday
  • Haaland has been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who more often than not like to have their camera moments

Erling Haaland is looking forward to making his English Premier League debut this weekend when Manchester City play West Ham.

All eyes will be on the new Manchester City striker, especially after a poor outing against Liverpool in the Community Shield, where he missed from point-blank range.

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Erling Haaland at Manchester City's training session. Photo by Tom Flathers.
Source: Getty Images

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But even as he countdowns to that moment at the Londo Stadium, the former Borussia Dortmund striker has fought off accusations that he is like Cristiano Ronaldo or Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Haaland has previously mentioned that he looks up to the accomplished strikers known for their bravado and confidence. In an interview with Sky Sports, as quoted by Manchester Evening News, Haaland opined that he will seek to let his football do the talking.

I don't need the spotlight. I love to have a joke on Instagram here and there, but other than that, I like to relax and have fun. Basically, enjoy what I'm doing.
I'm a player hungry for goals, gives 100 per cent that wants to win every game. As a person, I'm a quiet person, I love to laugh and have fun. But in the end, I'm a relaxed person.

Haaland was given jersey 9 following Gabriel Jesus' departure to Arsenal.

Sergio Aguero warns that Erling Haaland will take time to adapt to the English Premier League

At the same time, Sports Brief had earlier reported that Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero had warned that the club's new striker Erling Haaland will take time to get going in the English Premier League.

Haaland was below his expected best when he made his competitive debut for the club against Liverpool in the Community Shield. The Norwegian striker was guilty of missing a chance with a gaping goal in front of him.

His Liverpool counterpart Darwin Nunez came off the bench to win the game for the Reds. Haaland found it hard to fare against Virgil Van Dijk, one of the best centre-backs in the game

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)
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