He was taken to bed by Haaland

Manchester (Dagbladet): Barely 15 minutes before the start of the press conference with Manchester City on Tuesday afternoon, the rumors in the press room began to gain more ground: Erling Braut Haaland was going to join as a player for the conquering Blues.

It is the first time the Norwegian has appeared in a press conference before a match in Europe, and the Norwegian's presence also surprised our Danish neighbours, including Jonas Dalgaard Rasmussen, who works for the Danish newspaper BT.

– It was very interesting and leaves an impression when English journalists pick up their notebooks and start thinking of questions, when they know Haaland is coming, Rasmussen told Dagbladet.

Haaland was in a jovial mood on the podium, joking and laughing on several occasions. He seemed confident of himself and, among other things, made the whole audience laugh after he misunderstood a question from a Danish journalist.

– I can understand that he was surprised if he was asked if he wanted to play for FC Copenhagen now, it would be a step backwards anyway. He's a fun guy. He is “laid back” but also has a great sense of humour. He's a charming guy, Rasmussen says.

Watch the full press conference with Haaland at the top of this article.

– a surprise

Simon Pajkowski at the local Manchester Evening News follows Manchester City closely. It was learned in the morning that Haaland would suddenly enter.

“It was very surprising, it was his first press conference in the 18 months he was here, so no one expected it at all,” Pajkowski tells Dagbladet on his way to the open training session a few hours later.

Among other things, Haaland was asked about the future and responded with the following:

– I am very happy, especially with the people around me, the technical director, the board members and the board of directors – they are a group of great people. I am so happy. If I said this, it would probably make a headline: You never know what tomorrow will bring. I am happy. You can write that down, but you can also write down everything you said before that. I'm happy and that's what I want to be.

He burst out laughing

– It doesn't matter to him

The Norwegian could have dropped an answer, but instead he was honest, knowing that it would make headlines here at home and abroad in the wider world.

– In the press conference room he looks like a big star. He is such a big name that he could answer the question about his future, which may not be at Manchester City, and it would make a big headline. “But he's so big that it doesn't matter and he can carry on as usual,” Pajkowski says.

– What do you think Pep Guardiola and the Board of Directors think about this comment?

– Well, they've learned that you have to put up with it. The important thing for Pep, he said, is that Erling is humble and accepted by his team-mates. So he doesn't apply this behavior in the locker room and in matches.

Dagbladet and other media were allowed to follow Manchester City's training for 15 minutes. Haaland was in a good mood on the pitch as he was in the press conference. He gave many hugs to people in the support staff and smiled and laughed with his teammates.

On Wednesday, he will try to improve his goal statistics in the Champions League against Copenhagen. Kick-off is 21.00.