22 April 2023 , 21:30
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When Martin Odegaard met Erling Haaland for the first time, he thought the Manchester City striker was "a little b*****d."
The two Norwegians are such close mates these days that Haaland asked the Arsenal captain to feature in a documentary about his decision to join City last summer.
And Odegaard recalls how when the pair were called up to play in their nation’s European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Germany in October 2018, his first impression was not so positive.
“You have changed a little,” says the Arsenal captain to a laughing Haaland in the documentary film ‘The Big Decision.’ “You were more like a little b*****d in the beginning. “You were so childish. You have grown up more in the last couple of years.
“But you saw it in the first (international) camp, in the videos when you dance and sing. It looks like you are 12 years old and the biggest little b*****d. Honestly!”
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Haaland has come of age since turning down Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain to join City in a £51 million deal last summer.
His 32 Premier League goals have equalled the record set in a 38-game season by Mo Salah. And if he continues this form, Pep Guardiola’s side will take some stopping at the business end of the season.
Odegaard and Haaland will be the best of enemies on Wednesday night when City team take on the Gunners in a contest that has been billed as a title decider. Odegaard, 24, has enjoyed a brilliant season after being granted the armband by Mikel Arteta.
Erling Haaland goes up against Norway teammate Martin Odegaard on Wednesday (Getty Images)And if Arsenal can avoid defeat in Manchester, he would remain on course to become the first Gunners skipper to lift the Premier League since Patrick Vieira led the Invincibles to glory when the Norwegian was just five years old. Odegaard revealed how he has come to understand Haaland’s sense of humour - and his love for outlandish clothes and flash accessories.
He added: “I don’t think he does things because he thinks they are really cool. But maybe he wants to get a reaction and maybe be a little funny. I just laugh at him. I do not take it seriously when he does crazy things. He could walk in with some sick shoes on or a sick bag, but I don’t think ‘here’s Erling, he loves this.’
“It’s more like ‘what does he want with this? You have to be a special person to rock something like that’.”
There have been suggestions that Haaland is the highest-paid player in England, with a weekly wage of £865,000-a-week after bonuses are added on. City have rubbished the claim - and chief executive Ferran Soriano insists the striker’s decision was based on medals rather than money.
Erling Haaland has scored a remarkable 32 Premier League goals this season (Getty Images)Who will win the Premier League title this season? Let us know in the comments below!
Soriano said: “It was a football decision because the economical and financial side (of the deal) was not that challenging. The fee with Dortmund was agreed because there was a release clause - and a lot of clubs wanted to pay the salary that he gets.
“Erling has developed this profile as a superstar but this is not the reason we signed him. We signed him because we think that he’s going to score a lot of goals and that he has the intelligence to adapt to our system.”
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Haaland has certainly delivered on his side of the bargain. And while he insists that goalscoring records mean nothing to him - he admits to already having an eye on the all-time Premier League standard of 260 goals.
Haaland said: “I have never looked at any records - because I just don’t look at them. They appear to me after matches and when I have broken them.
“But I haven’t seen any particular records. Who is the top scorer in the Premier League? Isn’t that Shearer with 260 goals. I know that one!”