Erling Haaland surprised his followers with a new look ahead of the English season kickoff, shedding his long blonde hair and cutting it almost entirely, ending one of the most signature features of his appearance over recent years.
The Manchester City striker posted photos documenting the stages of his transformation across his social media accounts, captioning them: “Short hair, don’t care,” before capturing the reactions of several friends and football stars.
Haaland made a video call with his former manager Pep Guardiola, who jokingly told him: “You’re lucky to have hair, I wish I had it,” before expressing his admiration for the new haircut and telling him that his hair would grow back if he didn’t like it.
The Norwegian enters the new season having scored 38 goals in 52 matches for Manchester City across all competitions in 2025-2026, including 27 goals that earned him the Premier League Golden Boot.
Haaland also shone in his first World Cup appearance, scoring 7 goals to lead Norway to the quarter-finals, having previously contributed 16 goals during the qualifiers that brought his country back to the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
With his new look, Haaland faces the challenge of leading Manchester City under Enzo Maresca to reclaim the Premier League title after missing out for two consecutive seasons, while defending his Golden Boot and continuing his push toward the club’s historic scoring records.
Haaland will feature for the second time this season with City on Sunday, when the Citizens face Bournemouth in the opening round of the Premier League, following their Community Shield loss to Arsenal last week.
