Erling Haaland is back in Norway after Norway’s deepest ever World Cup run. And he brought a souvenir. A taxidermy raccoon.
The Manchester City striker was spotted coming off a plane in Oslo with a dead raccoon tucked under his arm. Not a live one. Not a plush toy. A stuffed one. Like something from a roadside curiosity shop in rural America.
Haaland posted a photo on X with the caption: “[The racoon] followed me home.”
Here’s the thing. This is not the first time Haaland has done something completely unhinged during a tournament. The guy spent the entire World Cup in the United States posting random videos and photos from his downtime. He’s been showing up to restaurants in full Norway kit. He’s been messing around with fans. He filmed himself eating a hot dog that looked like it was assembled by someone who hates hot dogs.
At one point during the group stage, he posted a video of himself trying to pay for gas with a credit card that had no money on it. Just for laughs.
So the raccoon thing? Honestly, it tracks.
On the field, he was serious
The silliness off the pitch didn’t carry over onto it. Haaland scored six goals in the tournament and dragged Norway to its first ever quarterfinal at a men’s World Cup. That’s not nothing for a country that has historically been a non-factor when the biggest stage rolls around.
Norway lost to Brazil in the quarterfinals, which is no shame. But Haaland’s performances only added to his legend. He’s 25, already a Premier League champion multiple times over, and now he’s got a World Cup run on his resume that actually means something for his country.
The question now is what happens next. Premier League training starts soon. Haaland will fly back to Manchester at some point in the coming weeks. Will the raccoon make the trip? Norway to England isn’t a long flight, but customs might raise an eyebrow at a taxidermy animal with no paperwork.
Maybe the raccoon stays in Norway. Maybe it ends up in Haaland’s living room in Cheshire, staring blankly at the wall while the striker watches film of Premier League defenders who are about to have a very bad season.
Either way, it’s hard to imagine any of Haaland’s teammates are surprised at this point. The man scored 50 goals in a single Premier League season and then celebrated by going home with a dead raccoon. That’s the kind of energy that wins titles.
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