Erling Haaland has been “no different” in his behavior following the “false contract” verdict against Manchester City, according to Norwegian team-mate Kristoffer Ajer.
Haaland will play for the first time on Thursday since The Premier League’s verdict on Man Citywhich said the club has artificially inflated club revenue by £900m between 2009 and 2018.
Norway face Wales in the Nations League on Thursday, when Haaland will be in the spotlight as his club face a huge amount of uncertainty following the Premier League’s declaration.
“Since I met him he brings a lot of energy and joy to the group,” Brentford centre-back Ajer said when asked about Haaland’s conduct on the pitch in Norway since City’s guilty verdict was announced on Tuesday.
“That’s the biggest compliment I ever give, he hasn’t changed a bit since I met him, even though he’s the biggest star on the planet now.
“It’s been exactly the same the last few days too, which is no surprise to me.”
Reports of City’s guilty verdict first appeared in the media on Friday.
The city’s verdict is “not in dispute” in Norway’s camp
Haaland scored against Portugal in a 2-1 defeat two days later, after scoring twice against Denmark to extend his record top scorer in the Nations League to 22.
Ajer said: “He’s the best player in the world, if you ask me, so I hope he scores a few tomorrow as well.
“I have to admit that, honestly, I have read very little about it (the city’s situation), we don’t talk about it much here.
“Obviously, it was a statement released yesterday, so it’s pretty fresh and new.
“But we are only footballers, we don’t know all the details and all the things that are talked about in the media.
“So we haven’t really had a great debate about it where we know a lot about it.”
Man City verdict: Haaland’s future uncertain
The future of Haaland and many of his teammates could be thrown into serious doubt after the verdict, with the punishment yet to be decided.
A post is said to be off the table, with suggestions the club could be kicked out of the Premier League, which would surely mean Haaland’s exit from the club.
No current players have spoken out about the verdict, although City have released another statement reiterating that they strongly deny the claims and have irrefutable evidence to clear their name.
