He is the Norwegian goalscoring machine who is threatening to break every scoring record in England and has been compared to Mike Tyson at the height of his boxing career.
But there is more to Erling Haaland’s footballing success than his Viking heritage and formidable physique.
The €400,000-a-week Manchester City striker – who has hit the net 20 times in just 12 games, and will look to add to his tally when the Citizens face Liverpool on Sunday – has been on a strange diet to give giving him an advantage over his rivals for years.
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In 2020, the then 20-year-old told local Norwegian media: “I see this as the key to improve the performance by just a few percentage points.”
“For me, it’s about the little things in the fight to improve day by day. Every day offers a new opportunity to become even better. Basically, it’s a matter of mentality.”
Seven-foot-tall forward Haaland is thought to be still growing and has put on 15kg of muscle in the past 15 months.
His dramatic transformation can be attributed to his gym work and strange diet, which includes eating beef heart and liver, as well as specially filtered water.
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The striker, described as a monster, also pays special attention to his pre- and post-match fitness regime, even installing a €50,000 cryo chamber in his home to help his body recover. Cristiano Ronaldo has used similar technology to keep him at peak fitness.
And Haaland, now 22, uses special techniques to control his circadian rhythm – the 24-hour cycle that acts as the body’s internal clock – including wearing blue-light glasses to reduce the sleep-depriving effects of screens.
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Here, MailOnline breaks down the science behind Erling Haaland’s phenomenal success:
A special diet with hearts and livers of cows for maximum nutrition
Teammates have described Haaland as ‘eating like a bear’ and it’s not hard to see why, considering he consumes more than 6,000 calories a day – around two and a half times the human allowance average.
He gave an insight into his diet in the Norwegian documentary Haaland: The Big Decision, which followed his career before his move to Manchester City this summer.
Showing large chunks of heart and liver from his kitchen to the camera, he said: “You (others) don’t eat this, but I’m concerned about taking care of my body.”
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“I think eating quality food that is as local as possible is the most important. People say meat is bad for you, but which one? The meat you get at McDonald’s?”.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, who has hit the net 20 times in just 12 games, has followed a series of strange health practices to give him an edge over his rivals for years.
“Or the local cow that eats grass there? I eat the heart and the liver.”
Eating animal organs has become less common in recent times, but once formed an essential part of the players’ diet.
Organs such as heart and liver are often richer in nutrients than the muscles that make up most modern cuts of meat.
Heart is leaner than most steaks, ground beef and other parts of the cow, while still being a rich source of muscle-building protein.
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Dr Duane Mellor, a dietitian at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, told MailOnline: ‘Often organ meats are an often overlooked food, they are rich in protein which can be beneficial for muscle maintenance and particularly repair and recovery, which can to be important for high performance in sports”.
Meanwhile, the liver’s particularly high amount of vitamin A is important for vision, the immune system, reproduction, and growth and development. In Haaland’s case, that will be supporting his heart, lungs and other organs to work at their highest level when under pressure in games.
“It tends to be higher in vitamins, with liver rich in iron, vitamins B12, A and D. Heart is also high in iron, but tends to be lower in saturated fat than liver.” .
“Heart also has high amounts of zinc, which contributes to the proper functioning of the body’s immune system and metabolism. This helps fight infections and keeps you in shape.”
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“Higher levels of iron, folate and vitamins B2, B6 and B12 also support the proper functioning of the cardiovascular system.”
“Meanwhile, the liver’s particularly high amount of vitamin A is important for vision, the immune system, reproduction and growth and development,” he added.
City striker Haaland has revealed his strange diet
