“I take Djokovic,” Erling Haaland names his ‘hero’ amidst Manchester City-Real Madrid switch rumors as the Novak Djokovic fanbase only gets bigger

Erling Haaland is currently the top scorer of the 2024 Premier League season with 14 goals.

“I take Djokovic,” Erling Haaland names his ‘hero’ amidst Manchester City-Real Madrid switch rumors as the Novak Djokovic fanbase only gets bigger

Erling Haaland (L), Novak Djokovic (R) (Sources: All football, Britannica)

Manchester City star Erling Haaland was recently asked in an interview to name a sporting hero from another sport, and the Norwegian chose tennis legend Novak Djokovic. 

The Serb is hands down the most decorated player in the history of tennis, having won a total of 98 singles titles, including a record 24 Grand Slam titles and seven ATP Finals.

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Haaland said that coming from a small country like Serbia and still managing to become one of the greatest legends of his sport is indeed admirable. 

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I like Djokovic. I think he's good, he's being himself and what he has achieved is amazing, coming from nowhere and from his country. I take Djokovic. 
Erling Haaland said.

The 2023 Golden Boot winner himself hails from Norway, a country that is not historically known to be a great footballing nation but has still made it to elite-level football. And he is now one of the best of his generation. 

That’s precisely why he connects with Novak Djokovic’s struggle to rise to the top of the competition, one step at a time. The Norwegian, however, had his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, to guide him, as he was himself a professional footballer who used to play for Manchester City. 

Novak Djokovic has always admired the sport of football. He is a fan of Serie A club AC Milan and has said that he also likes Manchester United. Some AC Milan players even attended one of his matches at the 2014 Shanghai Masters, and he thanked them on social media. His favorite football player is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. 

Erling Haaland gets heavily linked to Real Madrid amid Kylian Mbappe transfer talks 

According to some reports in Spain that came out last week, Erling Haaland dislikes his life in Manchester and might be looking to move elsewhere soon, with Real Madrid being his top priority.

Erling Haaland to return from injury
Erling Haaland is expected to return against Burnley, after recovering from a foot injury. (via French Football Weekly)

These talks emerged during a time when the Los Blancos are already said to be working to seal their deal with Kylian Mbappe. Some have said that Real Madrid will be better off waiting for Erling Haaland than waiting for Mbappe’s commitment. 

For one report, for one journalist or one Twitter account, one Instagram account, do you think they are going to change something that is going to happen? It’s not going to happen.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola said of the rumors. 

It is also being said that these rumors might be Real Madrid’s strategy to edge the Norwegian towards Real Madrid in the near future using Madrid-leaning media. However, Haaland has been extremely successful at Manchester City and he seems comfortable there. 

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