To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Erling Haaland Gained 26lbs Of Pure Muscle In 15 Months

Erling Haaland Gained 26lbs Of Pure Muscle In 15 Months

Many believe the Norwegian phenomenon was made in a lab due to his scary genetics...

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Standing at 6ft 4 built like a fridge, Erling Haaland is a mountain of a man these days.

And his former coach has revealed the ridiculous physical transformation the Norwegian boy-wonder experienced as a youngster, which has helped him become the stone-cold killer striker we see before us today.


Although he recorded the world record for the longest standing jump for a 5-year-old back in 2006, Haaland's genetics didn't come about right away.

Then, in a 15 month period he went from being a scrawny kid to an absolute unit thanks to some serious training.

Image: PA
Image: PA

"His body responds so well to training because his genetics are privileged," Erase Steenslid told AS as part of an in-depth feature on the Borussia Dortmund star.

'He gained 12 kilos of muscle in 15 months. It was crazy. We built his muscle from scratch. He was always the closest to the buffet and his plate was literally a mountain of food.

'I designed a circuit for him where at one of the stations he had to hit a sack... and one day he split it in half."

Ruben Gabrielsen was a teammate of Haaland's at Molde and says the star striker returned as a "different animal" after an injury lay-off.

"When he came to the club, he was a small guy... he was not so good to be honest with you," the defender explained. "I was just thinking: 'Yeah, maybe he can play in Norway.'

"And then he got sick and injured, and we didn't see him for a long time, and he came back big as f**k... he was so big! He was a different animal!

"He was killing everybody in training... we just started laughing and I was like, 'Who is this guy?' And then it just skyrocketed from there."

Image: Twitter
Image: Twitter

Off the pitch, Haaland enjoys meditation - reflected in his yoga-style celebration that PSG decided to imitate after he had them on strings - while it's also said he used special blue light glasses to take away the glare from screens and help with his sleeping.

As for his diet, a young Haaland decided to copy Cristiano Ronaldo when he heard about the type of food the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was consuming.

"I had to be determined to make it in the game. But Erling made all the sacrifices, leaving home at 16 to move to Molde, and he is a lot more professional than I was," his father and former Manchester City player Alf-Inge Haaland told ESPN last year.

"He was told a story by Patrice Evra about a lunch he had with Ronaldo and Cristiano had fish, nothing else.

"Erling now tries to do the same things because Ronaldo is 34 and still at the top of the game, so it shows the value of doing the right things."

The 19-year old has 41 goals in all competitions this season so far, including 12 goals in his first 13 appearances in a Borussia Dortmund shirt after his January move from Red Bull Salzburg.

Haaland has all the tools to go right to the top and many fans are already predicting both he and PSG and France sensation Kylian Mbappe will take over from Messi and Ronaldo as rivals at the highest level.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Football News, Football, Erling Haaland, BVB, Borussia Dortmund, Norway