In advance of Manchester City's visit to Elland Road, Erling Haaland has always had a soft spot for Leeds United.
Two games stood out to Erling Haaland when he first examined Manchester City's schedule during his first Premier League season.
At his summer unveiling, Haaland played to the crowd while speaking on stage outside the Etihad and remarked, "I don't want to say the words, but... Manchester United."
It cemented his status as a devoted Blue from childhood and won him the backing of the City right away. Prior to Haaland's tearful Christmastime reunion with Leeds, it will also have been well received on the other side of the Pennines. In fact, Wednesday's game at Elland Road caught Haaland's attention because it would be his first encounter with a team that is dear to him.
Haaland's love for Leeds dates all the way back to his birth there, when his father Alfie was a player for Leeds United before moving on to Manchester City. Haaland was a Blues fan growing up, but he never lost sight of his roots and has always had a keen interest in Leeds.
For instance, keen-eyed Leeds supporters saw him collecting autographs for Dortmund fans in 2021 while donning training shorts from their club while at Borussia Dortmund, when rumours were rife over which European team would sign him.
After Norway defeated them in a friendly the year before, he encouraged Northern Ireland international Stuart Dallas of Leeds to switch shirts. Dallas would recount in the future: "He followed me and inquired about trading clothing. Considering that I'm laughing in front of the camera after we just suffered a 5-1 loss, it maybe wasn't the best move.
Even before that, Haaland expressed his desire to be the best possible player in 2017 while still playing for Molde, giving Leeds supporters hope that they might have an advantage in luring one of Europe's most promising young players.
"Winning the Premier League with Leeds is the ultimate goal. Being a better player than my father is another objective. I'd like to surpass his number of caps.
Although he backed City, his ultimate goal was to help Leeds win the Premier League. At the Etihad, he might at least realise the second part of that desire.
Haaland was among the first to congratulate his former coach when he was named at Elland Road because he had collaborated with current Leeds manager Jesse Marsch when at RB Salzburg. Haaland immediately texted Marsch after learning that his debut versus Leeds would take place on Boxing Day (later moved back two days).
Before, when I obtained the position, both he and his father were really excited and supportive of me, he said. "We'll be expecting him to be completely prepared and fired up for this game, which presents problems for us.
As soon as the schedule was released, Erling texted Marsch and expressed his excitement for Boxing Day in particular. "I allowed him to suffer a minor hamstring strain for that."