Football superstar Erling Haaland reveals why Novak Djokovic is his sporting hero
Football star Erling Haaland has divulged that tennis legend Novak Djokovic is his biggest sporting hero from another sport and expressed his admiration for the Serbian.
The elite striker expressed that he likes Djokovic because he’s “being himself” and declared it is “amazing” what the 36-year-old has achieved after “coming from nowhere.”
Haaland, who is regarded as one of the best players in world football, plays for English Premier League champions Manchester City. The 23-year-old joined from German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
In the 2022/23 season, the Norwegian broke the record for most goals in a single Premier League campaign with a staggering 36 and helped City win a historic treble.
In 2023, Djokovic had one of the finest seasons of his remarkable career. The 36-year-old won the Australian Open, the French Open, the US Open and the ATP Finals in 2023 – four of the five biggest tournaments in tennis – and was also a finalist at Wimbledon.
The Serbian won all of these huge finals in straight sets with victories over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner in the respective title matches.
Djokovic, who has won a men’s record 24 Grand Slam titles, also secured a record-extending eighth year-end ATP world No 1 finish last year.
READ MORE: Novak Djokovic the GOAT: A list of people who have declared Novak Djokovic the greatest of all time
During an episode of the Official Man City podcast, Haaland named Djokovic when asked who his sporting hero from another sport was.
“I like Djokovic. I think he’s good, he’s being himself and what he has achieved is amazing, coming from nowhere and from his country. I’ll take Djokovic,” the Norwegian said.
Thank you bro @ErlingHaaland 🙏💪 https://t.co/ouD3t0HZxA
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) February 6, 2024
In a post quoting a tweet sharing the clip of Haaland talking about him, Djokovic tagged the Man City star to thank him for his words.
“Thank you bro @ErlingHaaland 🙏💪,” the world No 1 wrote on Twitter / X.
Following Djokovic’s stunning 2023 season, leading tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou marvelled at Djokovic’s longevity and argued he had sealed his status as the GOAT beyond all doubt.
“I’ve never seen in the history of tennis someone who is on top of their game at 36, as much as they were at 26, 28. It’s a whole career of being at the top,” the Frenchman told Tennis Majors.
“He had one or two difficult years, but most of his career he’s been at the top of his game, even though he played in the same era as Roger and Rafa, which says even more about how an incredible, dominant player he is.
“I think the famous debate about who is the GOAT, I guess, is completely dead now after this incredible year, three more Grand Slams, plus one final. He has the record almost everywhere of all – number of Masters 1000s, number of weeks No 1, number of Grand Slams – and he’s still playing, he’s still at the top.”
Djokovic was beaten in four sets in the semi-finals of the 2024 Australian Open by world No 4 Jannik Sinner last month. The 36-year-old is expected to make his return to action at the Indian Wells Masters in March.
READ MORE: French tennis great confused by Novak Djokovic longevity as he compares him to two sporting icons
