Erling Haaland put up the owners of one of his favourite Manchester restaurants in an executive box at the Etihad Stadium as a thank you for feeding him.
Haaland has settled in extremely well since joining Manchester City in a £51million transfer from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. The Norwegian striker has already banged in an astonishing 20 goals in 13 appearances across all competitions. So far, he has only failed to find the back of the net in two games.
That form is down to a lot of factors, including his talent, teammates, manager – but also, it seems, his comfort in his new home. Haaland lives in a city centre apartment building which is also home to City stars Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias and Julian Alvarez and has frequently been spotted out on the streets of Manchester.
Despite being one of the best players in the world, he has not been shy to make the most of Manchester. And one of his favourite restaurants is Vero Moderno – an Italian establishment close to Salford Central station.
He likes it so much, in fact, that The Athletic says he invited the owners to watch City’s Champions League match against FC Copenhagen from one of his two executive boxes inside the Etihad on October 5. Needless to say, he rewarded them with two goals in a 5-0 thrashing of the Danish side.
Vero Moderno translates from Italian as “true and modern” and its website says it serves “rustic Italian food with a contemporary twist”. Whether or not Haaland has asked them to make his favourite dish from his hometown of Bryne, Norway, is not known.
The 22-year-old is a huge fan of a kebab pizza sold by a restaurant called Yummy Time in the small town of Bryne. “I really like kebab (meat). I love it,” Haaland has said. “That doesn’t mean I eat it all the time. I eat it a couple of times a year when I’m in my hometown. I almost never eat it, but it’s still my favourite food.”
He appears to be branching out in Manchester, having also been spotted in popular Indian chain restaurant Dishoom. As well as living nearby to some of his City teammates, Haaland has also struck up a close friendship with one of the club’s physiotherapists, Mario Pafundi.
Haaland asked Pafundi to join him in Norway during the recent international break, to ensure he remains in good shape and avoid any unwanted injuries.
“It’s not weird to see a physio going with a player,” Guardiola explained. “I have always said to the club that the most important department in the backroom staff, knowing that everyone is important, are the physios: they take care of the legs of the players.
“Erling last season struggled a lot in Dortmund. He arrived here with some problems but he started to work with Mario, Federico [Genovesi] and other physios we have, and thanks to the work of everyone he has been better.”
