Erling Haaland
Active- Current or last club
- Manchester City
- Country (nationality)
- Norway
- League or competition
- Premier League
- Position
- Striker
- How is the religion known?
- Reported by reputable media
- Last checked
- 9 October 2026
We list a player’s religion only where they have spoken about it publicly or it has been reliably reported, and we link our sources. If something is wrong, or a player’s views have changed, please tell us and we will review it.
Table of Contents
What religion is Erling Haaland?
Erling Haaland is a Norwegian professional footballer who has never publicly confirmed his religion and maintains strict privacy regarding his personal faith and spiritual beliefs. Because neither he nor his representatives has ever made an official statement on the matter, his exact religious affiliation remains undisclosed.
Haaland was raised in a predominantly Protestant Lutheran cultural environment in Bryne, Norway. Historically, he has shared public social media posts celebrating Christmas with his family, which aligns with this Scandinavian heritage. While it is widely reported that he grew up in a Christian household, he has never formally stated whether he personally practices Christianity as an adult.
Widespread online speculation that Haaland has converted to Islam stems entirely from his social media activity and interactions with peers, rather than any personal declaration. Haaland has occasionally used Arabic phrases like “Alhamdulillah” and “Inshallah” on his public accounts. In post-match commentary and online replies, he adopted these terms out of respect and camaraderie while celebrating with Muslim teammates, such as Mahmoud Dahoud during his time at Borussia Dortmund.
The rumor mill has been heavily fueled by viral videos across TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram claiming to show Haaland formally reciting the Shahada or participating in congregational prayers. Fact-checking organizations have used advanced AI-detection tools to conclusively prove that these viral clips are 100% fake. They rely on manipulated audio, deepfake software, and repurposed locker room footage overlaid with religious music to fabricate a conversion that never happened.
Erling Haaland plays as a striker for Manchester City and captains the Norway national team. He is the son of former Premier League defender Alf-Inge Haaland and former heptathlete Gry Marita Braut. He has played for Bryne, Molde, Red Bull Salzburg, and Borussia Dortmund before Manchester City signed him in 2022 for a reported £51 million. Among his many career achievements, he has won two Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup with City and holds numerous individual scoring records across the leagues and competitions he has played in.
Contracts, Salary & Career Earnings
Erling Haaland’s early career wages at Molde and Red Bull Salzburg were small compared to what he makes today. Reports show he earned around €150,000 per week during his time at Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund. Manchester City signed him from Dortmund in 2022 by paying a £51 million release clause. With agent fees and extra costs added, the total price for City was closer to £85 million. His first deal with the club was a five-year contract worth $97.5 million.
In January 2025, Haaland signed a new nine-and-a-half-year contract extension with Manchester City that runs until June 2034. This is the longest contract in Premier League history, and it completely removed his old release clause. Under this new deal, his base salary is £525,000 per week, which is around £27.3 million a year. Extra bonuses can push his total weekly pay close to £875,000. This makes him the highest-paid player at Manchester City and one of the top earners in world football.
Forbes estimates his total annual income at around $80 million, split evenly between his football salary and sponsorship deals with brands like Nike and Breitling. His total net worth is estimated at roughly $100 million.
Early life
Erling Braut Haaland was born on July 21, 2000, in Leeds, England, while his father Alf-Inge Haaland was playing for Leeds United. Because he was born there, he holds a British passport and grew up supporting Leeds United.
In 2004, when Haaland was three years old, his family moved back to his parents’ hometown of Bryne, Norway. He started playing football at age five with Bryne FK, the same club where his father began his career.
During the 2015–16 season, Haaland scored 18 goals in 18 games for Bryne’s reserve team. He made his senior debut for the club about three months before turning 16. In February 2017, Haaland signed with Molde FK. There, he was coached by Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who used to play with his father on the national team.
Career
Haaland made his senior debut for Bryne in Norway’s second division in 2016. He moved to Molde FK in February 2017, where manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær helped him improve his heading and physical game. He scored two goals in his first season before becoming the club’s top scorer the next year with 12 goals. In January 2019, Haaland joined Red Bull Salzburg. After starting on the bench, he became a regular player that July and began scoring lots of goals, including three hat-tricks. He also became the first teenager to score in five straight Champions League matches, finishing the group stage with eight goals.
In January 2020, Haaland joined German club Borussia Dortmund. Over two and a half seasons, he scored 62 goals in 67 league games and won the German Cup in 2021. His great form made him one of the most wanted strikers in Europe. Manchester City won the race and signed Haaland in the summer of 2022. He made an instant impact, helping City win a historic treble by capturing the Premier League, the Champions League, and the FA Cup in his first year.
He set a new Premier League record by scoring 36 goals in 35 league games, and he scored 52 goals across all competitions that year. Since moving to England, he has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times. He also became the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League goals, hitting the milestone in just 111 games. By the summer of 2026, Haaland had scored a total of 157 goals in 190 games for Manchester City.
International career
Haaland played for Norway’s youth teams before making his senior debut in 2019. At the 2019 Under-20 World Cup, he set a record by scoring nine goals in a single match. By 2024, he became Norway’s all-time top scorer, breaking a record that had stood since 1937. As the team captain, he wears both “Braut” and “Haaland” on the back of his shirt to honor both of his parents.
Haaland helped Norway qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which was their first appearance in the tournament since 1998. He started strong by scoring in a 5–0 qualifying win against Moldova. At the main tournament, he scored two goals in each of the first two matches to beat Iraq and Senegal. The coach rested him for the final group game, which Norway lost to France. Haaland then scored the winning goal against the Ivory Coast in the round of 32. He scored two more goals in a 2–1 win over Brazil in the round of 16 before England knocked Norway out in the quarter-finals. He finished the World Cup with seven goals, coming in third place for the Golden Boot behind Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé.
Personal life
Haaland is the son of former professional footballer Alf-Inge Haaland, who played for clubs including Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, and Manchester City, and former heptathlete Gry Marita Braut. He has been in a long-term relationship with Isabel Haugseng Johansen, a former footballer who also grew up in Bryne and played for Bryne FK. In October 2024, the couple announced they were expecting their first child, and their son was born in December 2024.
In 2025, Haaland and his father purchased a rare historical Viking text at an auction before donating it directly to their local community library in Norway.
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