The world of soccer is a vast one, encompassing the entire planet, with millions of fans watching the sport. It is therefore no surprise to see soccer superstars such as Erling Haaland meet up with many other famous athletes from other sports.
Many athletes from sports such as tennis, NBA, NFL, etc. are strongly associated with soccer, with many supporting various clubs from Europe. For example, Joel Embiid supports Real Madrid, and recently, Erling Haaland got to visit a very famous UFC superstar.
Erling Haaland poses with Khabib amid injury concerns
Erling Haaland is arguably one of the best players in the world currently, having won the treble with Manchester City last season. He was also the top scorer last season and was second to Lionel Messi in winning the Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best Awards.
The striker was injured for quite some time for City, having not played the entire month of December. However, he has now recovered well and is already back to training with the squad. He joined the City squad under manager Pep Guardiola for their training camp in Abu Dhabi. They are holding their winter camp there, as they prepare for the restart of the Premier League.
Great to meet this legend here in Abu Dhabi! @TeamKhabib pic.twitter.com/bSSZLcrEci
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) January 23, 2024
In Abu Dhabi, Haaland and the other players got to meet a very special guest. That was former undefeated UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. He met with Haaland and was seen posing with many stars, which were later uploaded on social media platforms.
Haaland posted their photo together on social media, writing, “Great to meet this legend here in Abu Dhabi!” It was quite ironic for many fans considering Khabib is a strong supporter of Manchester United, the fierce rivals of Haaland’s City.
Khabib teaches Arabic to Manchester City players
Khabib was also seen spending quality time with the players, as he shared a video on his Instagram account. There, he was seen sitting on a sofa with Rodri, Erling Haaland, and Ederson and teaching them Arabic words. The trio had quite a lot of fun with the Dagestan-born UFC personality. They learned many Arabic words, such as the Arabic word for the color blue.
Furthermore, they were seen being gifted gift packages by internet sensation Hasbulla Magomedov. It seems that the City players are enjoying their time in Abu Dhabi, meeting up with other famous people.
Manchester City and Erling Haaland will have to focus on their next match against Tottenham next Sunday as they face off in the FA Cup 4th round.
