Erling Haaland is arguably the best #9 in the world right now. Meanwhile, Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario remains a gold standard for the same spot. Therefore, if Haaland and prime Ronaldo were to become striker partners, their opponents wouldn’t but pray for a less embarrassing defeat. While the two have a snowball’s chance in hell to pair up in a real game, thanks to video games like EA FC 24, the duo can share the same stage. However, the Norwegian seems to have other plans and linkups to bring into reality.
Unlike soccer fans, Erling Haaland does not seem to be too much excited to partner up with Ronaldo Nazario. Turns out, the Manchester City stalwart just disrespected R9 with a bizarre move. What was his train of thought for this instance?
Erling Haaland is the face of EA FC 24. He also seems to enjoy playing the game in his free hours. Haaland has now shared a picture of his EA FC 24 team on Instagram. It is a team, where he, Kylian Mbappe, and Ronaldo Nazario come together in a surreal lineup.
However, the 23-year-old shockingly snubbed R9! Instead, he brought in his cousin Jonatan Braut Brunes. Haaland shared this shocking move on an Instagram story, and wrote “Sorry @ronaldo have to drop you for my cousin @jonatanbrunes.”
The sheer bizarreness of the move lies in the fact that Ronaldo, alongside Haaland, is the highest rated in his team, with a 94 rating. Haaland’s cousin Brunes, on the other hand, is rated 85. Anyhow, the Manchester City star’s decision will indeed be a great compliment for his brother. Jonatan Brunes, like Haaland, is a #9 and he plays for the Belgian club OH Leuven.
Although his snub of R9 comes as a shock, deep down, Haaland, like many other soccer superstars, is an ardent fan of the 2002 World Cup winner. Now, let us look at the Ronaldo idolizer in the mighty Haaland.
In March 2023, Erling Haaland turned heads by signing a 10-year plus $24.2 million boot deal with Nike. At the heart of this move, per reports, was Haaland’s aspiration to emulate his idol, Ronaldo Nazario. Other big names, like Adidas and Puma, were also in pursuit of landing Haaland. However, the Norwegian reported took his decision to join Nike with ‘his heart and not his head’.
Upon rising to superstardom, Ronaldo became the face of the #9 position in the sport, and his R9 Mercurial by Nike from 1998, remains one of the most popular boots to date. Nike, now, believes the 23-year-old is the heir to Ronaldo, who might have such a big influence on Haaland, but on EA FC, his cousin seems to have a larger influence.