Erling Haaland’s dad has explained a video that appears to show him having an altercation with Real Madrid fans inside the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
Manchester City and Real Madrid played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash in the Spanish capital.
City dominated the opening 45 minutes, but went into half-time a goal down after Vinicius Junior scored against the run of play.
Kevin de Bruyne restored parity in the second half with a thundering strike, meaning the tie is finely balanced ahead of the return leg in Manchester next week.
Erling Haaland did not have his best game in a City shirt, but as ever, his father and agent Alfie Haaland was in the stands cheering him on.
The sight of the former City midfielder celebrating his son’s goals has become a common one for TV audiences this season, but on Tuesday, viewers were treated to something a little more controversial.
Haaland Sr. – who helped broker his son’s £52m move from Borussia Dortmund last summer – was caught on camera having an altercation with Real Madrid fans during the 1-1 draw.
The 50-year-old was seen exchanging words with home fans sitting near his executive box, before he started waving and cupping his ears.
The Norwegian was then escorted away by security staff at the Bernabeu, although it appears he was not ejected from the stadium.
What did Alfie Haaland say?
Replying to Sky Sports News’ tweet of the video the following morning, Alfie Haaland said:
“Ok. Real Madrid was not happy we were celebrating KDB [Kevin de Bruyne] goal. Other than that we had to move because Real Madrid fans not happy with 1-1.”
While the whole incident seemed a bit like a playground spat, it adds a new layer of intrigue to the whole Erling Haaland-Real Madrid dynamic.
It was the Spanish giants City beat to the signing of the striker last summer, despite the fact that he is said to hold ambitions of one day playing for Los Blancos.
Haaland Sr. has never ruled out the possibility of his son one day swapping the Etihad Stadium for the Bernabeu, while in the days running up to Tuesday’s game, the Spanish sports papers were awash with reports of a Haaland move in 2024.
