Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, have purchased luxury properties in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with the residences reportedly costing up to £7.5m each.
According to the Daily Mail, the Norwegian forward and his 53-year-old father acquired the properties at the exclusive Ohana Development on Yas Island, further strengthening their links to the UAE, where Manchester City’s owners are based.
The development features a football training academy, a dedicated City Lounge and the club’s branding across the complex, highlighting Manchester City’s presence in the area.
The purchase comes shortly after Haaland publicly expressed support for Manchester City following an independent commission’s verdict that found the club guilty of charges relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations.
The club’s owners are appealing the verdict.
Ahead of City’s 3-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, Haaland urged supporters and teammates to remain united and positive despite the controversy.
“We have to stick together. We have to stay with each other and we have to stay positive no matter what happens in life – we always have to have a smile. We have to stay positive, look ahead and try to win football games and then try to enjoy the situation and win the game (at Anfield).
“We have to stick together and we have to spread the love to each other,” he added. “Stick together and enjoy the ride and smile.”
Haaland scored in the victory over Liverpool, helping Manchester City return their attention to football amid the ongoing financial controversy.
The commission found that City had used “sham” commercial deals to conceal more than £900m in funding from their Abu Dhabi owners, inflate revenues and understate costs over nine seasons between 2009 and 2018.
Meanwhile, the latest purchase adds to Haaland’s reported international property portfolio, which includes two homes in England and residences in Marbella, Malaga and Oslo, according to Architectural Digest.
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca, reacting to the controversy after Sunday’s victory, described the criticism surrounding the club as “noise” and urged his team to focus on winning matches.
“The noise will always be there so we need to learn how to deal with that but at the same time we need to try and bring our noise, which is win games which is what we have done today. At the end of the game, our fans were singing so the noise was from us and not the environment.
“All the away games are going to be with noise so we need to learn how to deal with the noise. And at the same time, we need to make our noise. Our noise is we’re singing at the end, our fans, and this has to be our target at the moment,” Maresca said.
