Erling Haaland expected his haircut to go viral, the Manchester City and Norway striker told The Wall Street Journal in a profile published October 8.
“But I didn’t think the whole world would be talking about my haircut for four or five days,” he said.
The 26-year-old unveiled the shorter look on August 23, ahead of City’s season opener, as Wealth of Geeks reported at the time.
The reveal followed a World Cup in which Haaland scored seven goals in five appearances as Norway reached the quarterfinals, according to the Premier League.
He Cut His Hair a Day After His WSJ Interview
When Haaland first sat down with WSJ at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, his hair was still shoulder length. Asked about changing it, he said he was considering a cut and possibly growing it out again before the next World Cup.
“We’ll see what the future brings,” he said during that initial conversation. Barely a day later, according to the profile, he had gone ahead with the clippers.
Haaland later explained the decision as an opportunity to surprise everyone. He had considered making the change immediately after the tournament, but a busy schedule delayed it until the beginning of the club season, when he wanted a fresh start.
His Father Had Challenged Him to Earn the Man Bun
Haaland told WSJ that his father, former Norway international Alf-Inge Haaland, disliked seeing strikers wearing their hair in a bun. Erling’s decision to adopt the style was partly a response to that disapproval.
Before the 2021-22 season, he moved from holding his hair back with a hairband to tying it into a man bun. He told his father about the change, and Alf-Inge challenged him to back it up with his performances.
According to Haaland’s account in the profile, he scored a hat trick in his next match and added two more goals the following week. His father, who had represented Norway at the 1994 World Cup, stopped objecting to the look.
His Girlfriend and Football Friends Reacted on Camera
Haaland opened his haircut vlog by revisiting earlier hairstyles, including a mohawk, a side part and a swept-back look, as GQ noted. He then filmed the transformation and shared the immediate reactions from people close to him.
His girlfriend, Isabel Haugseng Johansen, initially joked that she might cry as the long hair came off.
When she saw the result, she called him “cute” before changing her assessment to “really tough,” as PEOPLE reported. Haaland also showed Jack Grealish and Zlatan Ibrahimović his new appearance over video calls. Grealish thought the cut made him look much younger.
Ibrahimović had previously warned him against cutting his hair, joking that his strength was in it. Seeing that Haaland had ignored that advice, he asked whether the haircut was the result of a lost bet.
A Barber Pointed to the Contrast With His Old Look
“The contrast with his signature long hair is a big part of why it’s getting so much attention,” Maxwell Oakley, co-founder of barbershop Supply 91, told British GQ in an August 24 interview.
Oakley described the change as a reset that placed more emphasis on Haaland’s face.
GQ also distinguished the finished hairstyle from a very close shave. It noted the length left across his head, particularly on top, which gave the cut a softer texture. The magazine gave Haaland’s version its own nickname: the “fuzzcut.”