Norwegian football star Erling Haaland cut his iconic flowing golden long hair to a neat short buzz cut on August 23, 2026, just before Manchester City's opening Premier League match against Bournemouth [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

Haaland shared photos and videos of his haircut process publicly on social media and YouTube the same day, where the post quickly gained 1.1 million likes [1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 5, 6, 7]. The 26-year-old forward tweeted "新赛季，新修剪" (New season, new cut) and "短髮，不在乎" (Short hair, don’t care) alongside the reveal [1].

His girlfriend, Isabel Haugseng Johansen, was visibly emotional during the process. She admitted, "我早上醒来会想，这是谁？" (I wake up in the morning thinking, who is this?) but also said, "看起来不错，你看起来很可爱。" (It looks nice, you look very cute) [8].

Haaland told media he had wanted to cut his hair since the 2026 World Cup but was too busy until now [8, 9, 10, 11, 12]. Before the cut, the retired Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimović advised Haaland never to cut his hair because "strength is in the hair," likening him to Samson from the Bible [1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 4, 12, 5, 7]. After the haircut, Haaland called Ibrahimović, who joked, "你跟人打赌输了吗？你还是封锁并删除我的电话号码吧。" (Did you lose a bet? You better block and delete my number) and said, "你干了什么？我老婆说你疯了。" (What did you do? My wife says you’re crazy) [8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 5, 7].

Haaland's Manchester City teammates and coach Pep Guardiola also reacted with surprise and jokes. Midfielder Jack Grealish said Haaland looked "like 10 years old," while Guardiola commented, "你很幸运你有头发。" (You’re lucky you still have hair) [5].

The buzz cut marks a farewell to Haaland’s long hair, which had become a personal trademark during his four years with Manchester City [8, 9, 10, 11, 6, 7]. Fans expressed mixed feelings, with some sad to lose the distinctive look that was part of his identity, while others felt the new style made him look fresher and more professional [1, 7].

Haaland is expected to debut the buzz cut in Manchester City's Premier League opening game on August 23, 2026, against Bournemouth [5, 7].