Erling Haaland is entering the Premier League season with a new look, and he’s making sure no one misses it.
The Manchester City striker posted a video on X and Instagram Sunday (Aug. 23) showing his long blonde hair clipped down to a close-cropped buzz cut, hours before his team’s season opener against Bournemouth.
"New season, new trim," Haaland wrote alongside the post, which showed him seated at home before the camera cut to the same outfit and a dramatically shorter haircut. About 20 minutes later, he followed up with selfies captioned "Short hair don't care."
The longer YouTube video showed Haaland video-calling friends to surprise them with the transformation. Teammate Jack Grealish delivered the most quoted reaction: "You look about 10 years old!"
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca's predecessor Pep Guardiola, who stepped down at the end of last season, got a call of his own.
"No way! You're lucky you have hair. I would love to have it," Guardiola said.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Oasis musician Noel Gallagher also appeared in the video, each visibly caught off guard.
The Ibrahimovic cameo was particularly meaningful, as Haaland had credited the Swedish legend for his commitment to the long hair throughout his four years at Etihad Stadium. Haaland cited a piece of advice Zlatan once gave him: "Never cut your hair because the strength is in the hair."
The buzz cut is the shortest style Haaland has worn since his professional debut at Molde.
Manchester City's official account summed up the collective reaction with a single comment on Haaland's post: "Nice."
