Manchester City star Julian Alvarez has revealed the surprising club that his striker pal Erling Haaland is a huge fan of.
The 21-year-old has been around Europe with various clubs from his native Norway to Austria and Germany, as well as being born in Leeds.
It would suggest that the striker has plenty of teams to pick from when choosing his favourite, having played for Byrne, Molde, Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund.
But Haaland’s favourite club does not even play in Europe and it seems current Marseille star Leandro Balerdi had a significant impact on the youngster’s decision during their short stint together at the Signal Iduna Park.
The Argentine may only have been at Dortmund for six months but convinced Haaland to fall in love with his former club Boca Juniors, as revealed by fellow Albiceleste Alvarez at the Etihad.
While discussing their relationship together competing for the No. 9 role at City, Alvarez told TyC Sports: “[Haaland’s] a good guy.
“He helps me, we talk to each other and I try to observe him from the outside in order to learn.
“Ever since I’ve been here, he’s always told me he’s for Boca Juniors and he’s talked to me about La Bombonera [Boca Juniors’ stadium].
“I think he was with Leonardo Balerdi at Borussia Dortmund and that influenced him a bit.
“We’ll see if we can change [his allegiance to River Plate] little by little. It’s going to be difficult, but we’ll try.”
Alvarez was signed from River Plate last season after City beat Manchester United to his signature and the club are huge rivals with Haaland’s beloved Boca.
But it has only brought the two closer together while the Norwegian has made an instant impact on the Premier League.
His move to City became a mammoth transfer saga but 27 goals in 25 Premier League games indicates he made the right move while Alvarez has had to sit in the shadows somewhat.
Nevertheless, the 23-year-old has still scored 10 times in all competitions and has been deployed across the frontline while Haaland has nailed down the role up front.