‘He obviously lied’ — James Milner reveals Erling Haaland told him he would sign for Leeds United
James Milner has jokingly accused Erling Haaland of “lying” to him about joining Leeds United.
The Manchester City goal fiend was born in Leeds during his father’s playing days for the West Yorkshire club at the turn of the century. He remained in England for four years until moving to Bryne in 2004, his parents’ hometown in Norway.
Haaland came through the Bryne academy, before going on to reach stratospheric heights for Molde, Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and now City, whom Milner’s Liverpool defeated on Sunday to inflict the first defeat of Pep Guardiola’s side in the top flight this term.
Erling Haaland news: A broken transfer promise?
- Milner says Haaland ‘lied’ to him about joining Leeds (click here for full quotes).
- Haaland was born in Leeds while his father was playing for the club and Milner was progressing through the academy.
- Haaland has scored 20 goals in 14 games since joining Man City in the summer.
- City will look to bounce back from defeat to Liverpool vs Brighton and Sky Bet are offering 15/8 on Haaland scoring 2+.
Safer Gambling Week is taking place from 13 – 19th November 2023 and is a cross-industry initiative to promote safer gambling in the UK. Its aim is to create conversations with customers, staff and the wider public about safer gambling while driving awareness of...
- How to gamble more safely
- Tools available to help people gamble safely all year round
- Sources of more advice and support
For more details, follow this link
Liverpool ran out 1-0 victors thanks to a sumptuous Mohamed Salah finish, keeping a muzzle on Haaland with the forward firing a collector’s item blank. And in the aftermath, Milner quipped that Haaland turned his back on a former transfer promise.
Milner told Viaplay: “I can confirm that he said he was going to sign for Leeds a few years ago when we played against him. He was obviously lying, so that’s disappointing.”
The Leeds academy graduate and boyhood fan was pressed further on whether himself and Haaland spoke further about the club during Sunday’s crunch clash at Anfield, to which Milner replied: “We had a little chat, yeah.”
Haaland’s first taste of the Elland Road atmosphere will come directly after the winter World Cup, with City’s first game post-Qatar coming in West Yorkshire against Leeds on Boxing Day.
