Erling Haaland loved watching Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo as a youngster, according to his father.
Since making his Borussia Dortmund debut last January following his arrival from Salzburg, Haaland has scored 33 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions to establish himself as one of Europe's leading strikers.
The 20-year-old Norway international – who won the 2020 Golden Boy award – looked up to former Swansea City forward Michu, but his father Alf-Inge Haaland revealed he particularly liked watching the most prolific players.
"He was a born striker. He loved the strikers who scored a lot of goals, but two in particular: Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo," Haaland Sr told Tuttosport, the newspaper that organises the Golden Boy award. "He also had a soft spot for Mario Balotelli during his time with Manchester City.
"He is never satisfied with himself and trains continuously because he wants to become the best.
"He's super focused and lives for football and scoring goals. If he scores two goals and is substituted, he goes off angry because he wanted to stay on the pitch and try to score another goal.
"With that mentality he combines good technique, excellent timing and an innate ability to understand where the ball will arrive in the area. This is why he scores so many goals."
Among players in the top five European leagues, only Ronaldo (37) and Robert Lewandowski (40) have scored more goals in all competitions than Haaland in 2020.
