After being catapulted to a new level of global stardom at the FIFA World Cup thanks to a combination of his force of personality and dominating on-field presence, Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Haaland has used his post-tournament break to enjoy time in Europe while providing moments that quickly circulated online.
According to the report, Haaland was in St. Tropez to mark his 26th birthday, where he wore a Viking-horned helmet and ducked behind the DJ booth to celebrate alongside DJ &ME, a member of the Berlin-based Keinemusik collective.
Days later he appeared at the wedding of Manchester City teammate Gianluigi Donnarumma and Alessia Elefante at Chiesa Madre di San Giorgio Martire in Italy, where he led guests in the now-famous Viking Row.
After reaching the World Cup quarterfinals, where Norway were eliminated by England, Haaland is among the City players who have been granted additional time off by the club before reporting for preseason. According to the club, he was absent from the 28-player squad named for Manchester City’s tour of Asia on Tuesday, a group that also omitted Rodri, Rayan Cherki and new signing Elliot Anderson.
The Asia tour includes matches against Internazionale, a K-League All Stars side and Atlético Madrid across Hong Kong and South Korea. Those fixtures will serve as Enzo Maresca’s first games in charge since succeeding Pep Guardiola.
