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Referee Manuel Grafe Swapped Shirts With Erling Haaland After His Final Bundesliga Game

Referee Manuel Grafe Swapped Shirts With Erling Haaland After His Final Bundesliga Game

What a moment.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

Referee Manuel Grafe hilariously swapped shirts with Erling Haaland after officiating his final Bundesliga match on Saturday.

Grafe and Haaland shared a touching embrace following Borussia Dortmund's 3-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

The Norwegian phenom, who scored twice to surpass 40 goals for the season, spoke with the departing referee before whipping off his shirt.

Grafe followed suit with him and Haaland exchanging jerseys in a bizarre yet brilliant moment.

The 20-year-old didn't stop there as he posed for pictures with the rest of the officials.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Haaland's remarkable gesture sent social media wild.

One tweeted: "You can see how highly the players rate him and respect him with this gesture."

A second wrote: "Great to see and shows referees can be supporters but still do a professional job."

A third joked: "Messi and Ronaldo will want Mike Dean's shirt when they both retire."

It's not the first time an official has received some sort of souvenir from Haaland.

Of course, earlier in the campaign, an assistant asked for his autograph following Dortmund's Champions League clash against Manchester City.

Featured Image Credit: Bundesliga

Topics: Football News, Football, Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga