Erling Haaland walked out of a Western-themed store in Dallas carrying two stuffed squirrels. This is who he is.
Beyond the goals — the relentless, ridiculous volume of them — and beyond the trophies stacked up at Manchester City, there's a person who approaches everything at full throttle. His teammate and compatriot Ørjan Nyland's partner Johansen, who knows Haaland well, puts it simply: wherever he goes, Haaland is an absolute maximalist. No half measures. No quiet tourist. Full send, always.
America got the full version
His trip stateside wasn't a PR exercise or a sanitised meet-and-greet. It was Haaland being Haaland — curious, chaotic, larger than life in a way that doesn't feel performed. The stuffed squirrels weren't a stunt. They were Tuesday.
That personality matters more than people give it credit for. The players who dominate football for a decade aren't just technically elite — they carry an energy that bends the environment around them. Haaland has that. City's dressing room knows it. Now America's getting a taste.
For a league trying to grow its global footprint, having the world's most recognisable striker wandering through Dallas gift shops and genuinely enjoying it is worth more than any ad campaign. He doesn't need to try to be interesting. He just is.
The goals will keep coming — they always do — but the Haaland story is bigger than the numbers now. He's already cemented what he is on the pitch. The question is what he becomes off it. If Dallas is any indication, the answer is: unpredictable, entertaining, and probably carrying something unusual in his luggage.
