Ex-Swansea star Michu reveals shirt swap with Erling Haaland and ‘honoured’ Man City star idolised him as kid
MICHU is “honoured” Erling Haaland idolised him as a kid.
The former Swansea striker swapped shirts with the Manchester City hotshot in 2020 after learning he was the emerging 19-year-old star’s hero.
Haaland, now 22, has scored a staggering six hat-tricks already in his debut season in English football following City’s 6-0 defeat of Burnley in the FA Cup.
It took his goal tally to a 42 in all competitions and 28 in the Premier League, which is already five more than last season’s golden boot-winning totals.
He signed a five-year contract until 2027, after arriving for £51million in June.
The Norway striker has always idolised the once-capped Spaniard – he used to tag himself as Michu in some of his footy Instagram photos as a teenager.
And ex-Prem forward Michu told Cadena SER about meeting the young Haaland in Germany before his big move.
Michu said: “I gave him a Burgos shirt and he gave me a Borussia [Dortmund] shirt.
“I’m glad he’s having that impact in England, he’s going to be a star at European level with [Kylian] Mbappe. They’re going to reign like [Lionel] Messi and Cristiano [Ronaldo] did.
“For me it is an honour that a footballer of this level had me as a reference when I was younger.
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“If he doesn’t have any serious injuries, he could be playing 13 or 15 more seasons at the highest level.
“If all goes well, he will score more than 300 goals.”
When asked if Haaland will play in Michu’s native Spain, the 36-year-old reckons he WILL end up in LaLiga.
He added: “Surely he will end up playing sooner or later in our league.
“Although with the conditions he has, it doesn’t matter where he plays, he will always score goals.”
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Haaland reportedly has a clause in his contract that will allow him to LEAVE Manchester City for Real Madrid.
And Fernando Sanz, a former Real player and ex-president of LaLiga club Malaga, claims Los Blancos will have the upper hand in 2024.