Erling Haaland stunned fans when he mentioned five girlfriends, but there's a twist
A viral quote from footballer Erling Haaland about having 'five girlfriends' is clarified as a reference to the five match balls he collected after scoring hat-tricks during his time at Red Bull Salzburg. The story serves as an anecdote illustrating his intense dedication to his professional performance.
Why it matters
The story humanizes a global sports icon while highlighting the extreme focus required to reach the elite level of professional football.
Erling Haaland is famous for ripping open defences and scoring goals but one of his most memorable headlines had nothing to do with football. Well before the Norwegian striker became one of the world’s biggest stars, he cracked a joke about having “five girlfriends” that left fans stunned. Years later, that odd comment keeps coming back, a reminder of the fun-loving character behind one of football's most feared forwards.Erling Haaland’s ‘five girlfriends’ comment had a very surprising meaningBack in 2019, Haaland was having a breakthrough season with Red Bull Salzburg. The teenage striker was scoring at an incredible rate, collecting match balls after every hat-trick and rapidly becoming one of Europe’s brightest young prospects.During that remarkable campaign, he delivered a quote that instantly grabbed attention.Speaking to Norwegian outlet Dagbladet, Haaland said, "I sleep with the five balls that I have for each hat-trick I scored.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in