ERLING HAALAND has revealed that his dad tried “forcing” him to become a GOLFER.
The Manchester City and Norway star, 25, is one of the deadliest finishers in football.
But he could have swapped pitches for putts had dad Alf-Inge had his way.
Haaland Snr, 53, was a football star himself, playing in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Man City.
His son has already surpassed Alf-Inge’s career honours with two Prem titles and a Champions League.
But Haaland almost became a golfer instead of a footballer due to pressure from his old man.
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Speaking to Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer on The Rest Is Football podcast, Haaland revealed that Alf-Inge “dreamed” of him swinging clubs for a living.
Haaland ended up being “forced” onto the green for three years of his childhood.
But the rest is history with the striker now one of world football’s biggest stars with 354 career goals to his name.
Haaland said: “You know, it’s actually funny because his biggest dream was me becoming a professional golfer. That was his biggest dream.
“So when I was 10, he forced me to start on golf. So I played golf every week from when I was 10 to 13.”
Haaland also revealed that his dad would “hit” him for wearing GLOVES while playing football, adding: “I like the old school, the charming thing of running, tackling. It’s a nice thing.
“And also you never see me playing with gloves. It’s because my father would hit me if I did. So I’m a bit old school as well, that’s why I like it.”
Meanwhile, Haaland became the fastest player in Prem history to score 100 goals this month, hitting the century mark on his 111th appearance against Fulham.
However, the Norwegian wants more and admits his sights are fixed on smashing the record 260 strikes set by Shearer.
Haaland said: “I knew for a time that 100 goals was possible to break. But I didn’t think too much about the record.
“I’ve said many times, I know one record. That’s the all-time one.”
He also fired back at critics who dub him a “tap-in merchant”, claiming it’s actually a massive compliment.
Haaland continued: “I love scoring goals. And the biggest compliment I feel I’m getting is when people say, oh another tap-in, another easy goal.
“Because the easiest goals is the best. The most difficult thing is to score goals, and when you can do it in an easy way, this is even better.
“If you could be in the perfect place all the time, scoring easy goals, that’s a good thing. You need to position yourself perfectly and that’s really difficult.”
Haaland also opened up over his strict diet, admitting he only drinks raw milk throughout the season and takes no alcohol.
However, he did allow himself a taste of beer after guiding Norway to just their fourth-ever World Cup.
Haaland added: “(Beer?) No, not in the season. I had it after we qualified for the World Cup.
“But I normally don’t drink in a season. Only milk.”
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