HAALAND OF MY FATHER

Erling set to do battle with the club who consider him one of their own

- BY JEREMY CROSS

ERLING HAALAND will not be short of support when Manchester City host Leeds at the Etihad this afternoon.

From all four corners of the ground, in fact.

Few footballers have the privilege of being popular with rivals fans.

But when it comes to those who follow Leeds, Haaland remains a firm favourite, despite the fact he has never pulled on their famous white shirt.

This might change, should he do what he does best and start banging in the goals against Daniel Farke’s men.

But there remains a lifelong bond between Haaland and the Yorkshire club, one that will never be broken.

It stems from the fact he was born in the city.

The date was July 21, 2000, and Alfie Haaland had just completed a £2.5m move from Leeds to Manchester City when his wife, Gry Marita Braut, went into labour. No one knew it at the time, but the world had just welcomed a future footballing superstar.