The £51 million signings seem to have revealed the squad number that Erling Haaland will wear for Manchester City, and the club’s supporters have been eagerly waiting to learn it.
A video showing Haaland holding up a City shirt featuring his name and the number nine while posing for a selfie with a fan while on vacation in Marbella has surfaced online. Due to Gabriel Jesus’ £45 million transfer to Arsenal, City’s No. 9 is currently vacant.
After months of rumors and a protracted transfer war with Real Madrid, Haaland was finally revealed as a City player last month. Naturally, the 21-year-old posed for several pictures while donning the City uniform, but his squad number was kept a secret.
The accepted assumption was that the transfer of Jesus was to blame for the delay in providing Haaland a number, as City would not have wanted to offend the Brazilian by distributing his number prior to his formal departure. It makes it obvious that Haaland will take over the number now that he has left.
The Norwegian goal scorer is accustomed to wearing the No. 9. Haaland initially wore No. 17 when he joined Borussia Dortmund in January 2020, but for the 2020–21 and 202–22 seasons, he wore No. 9, signifying his status as the team’s uncontested first-choice forward.
Haaland’s acquisition puts an end to City’s two-year hunt for a premier striker. None of the club’s attempts to bring in Harry Kane, Lionel Messi, or Cristiano Ronaldo were successful.
The striker, along with Kalvin Phillips, Julian Alvarez, and Stefan Ortega Moreno, who is also new to the squad, will be unveiled to City supporters at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday at around 2:00 PM. The forward scored 83 goals in 87 appearances for Borussia Dortmund. The leaking is deemed to be intentional yet it is a fortunate mistake since some fans were looking forward to the reveal at some point.
