Erling Haaland has Leeds United roots - but reviving Man City is the focus

Erling Haaland has enjoyed a lifelong love affair with Leeds United but Manchester City need his goals to help return the Blues to winning ways

Erling Haaland will be far from lacking support when Manchester City welcome Leeds United to the Etihad this Saturday. Indeed, he'll have backing from all corners of the stadium. It's a rare privilege for footballers to be adored by rival fans. Yet, for those who cheer on Leeds, Haaland continues to be a firm favourite, despite never having donned that iconic white jersey.

This could change if Haaland does what he excels at and starts netting goals against Daniel Farke's side. However, there remains an unbreakable bond between Haaland and the Yorkshire club. This connection originates from Haaland's birth in Leeds. On 21 July 2000, Alfie Haaland had just finalised a £2.5m transfer to Manchester City from Leeds when his wife, Gry Marita Braut, went into labour.

At the time, no one knew that they were welcoming a future football superstar into the world. While Haaland Sr may have departed Elland Road, he continued to reside in Leeds, where he had achieved cult status among fans due to his involvement in a clash with Manchester United at Elland Road in 1997, which led to Roy Keane sustaining a cruciate ligament injury.

Keane would later exact revenge, but Haaland's place in Leeds folklore was cemented. His son quickly became a fan of the club, spending his early years idolising Leeds' Norwegian midfielder Erik Bakke. Young Haaland even had a replica shirt with Bakke's name on it and posters of the team adorned his bedroom walls.

Haaland relocated to Norway in 2003, following his father's move to Bryne. Despite being eligible to play for England due to his British citizenship, Haaland had already represented Norway nearly 20 times by his 21st birthday.

"You never know how it would be had my father played longer in England," Haaland said, "maybe I would be English, I don't know. But I'm Norwegian and proud of it."

Nevertheless, Haaland has never forgotten his Yorkshire origins. He has made frequent pilgrimages to Elland Road, both as a competitor and spectator.

When the 2022/23 fixture list was released, Haaland messaged then Leeds boss Jesse Marsch, expressing his enthusiasm about City's festive clash against them. Haaland proceeded to net twice in a 3-1 victory, yet declined to celebrate his strikes out of respect for Leeds.

Additional proof of his affection for Leeds emerged when Haaland requested Elland Road legend Stuart Dallas to exchange shirts following a match between Norway and Northern Ireland.

Dallas remembers: "He walked behind me and asked about swapping shirts. I thought he meant inside, but he shouted at me and asked to do it now. We did it and then he leaned into me and said, 'Marching on together!'".

Meanwhile, back in 2019, whilst playing for RB Salzburg, Haaland openly displayed his continuing devotion to Leeds. "I want to be the best possible. The dream is to win the Premier League with Leeds," he proclaimed.

Unfortunately for Leeds supporters, this aspiration remains precisely that - a dream. However, they will never cease to hope that one day, they will once again see a player donning a Leeds jersey with the name 'Haaland' emblazoned on the back.