Statue of Man City forward Erling Haaland 'stolen' after complaints it was 'too ugly'

A statue of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has reportedly been stolen in his home country of Norway.

The striker joined City from Borussia Dortmund this summer and has hit the ground running in Manchester. The 22-year-old has scored three goals and provided one assist in his first three Premier League games against West Ham, Bournemouth and Newcastle.

Haaland has scored 20 goals in his 21 appearances for his national team so far, leading many Norwegians to feel a sense of pride over the 22-year-old representing their country. This was especially true in his hometown of Byrne, where a 10ft statue of the striker was erected in his honour.

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However, in a bizarre turn of events, the wooden effigy has now seemingly been stolen after it disappeared overnight. Tore Sivertsen, the man who commissioned renowned wood sculptor Kjetil Barane to create the statue before the latter spent a year carving it from a 100-year-old log, told The Sun about his dismay.

"We are all enormously proud of Erling," he said. "I thought it would be good to commission a statue to pay tribute.

“Some have complained it’s too ugly though, let’s face it, Erling is not a pretty guy. But I was still shocked that someone decided to steal it."

“I accept it may not be to everyone’s taste, but I like it. It’s a work of art rather than a realistic representation of Erling Haaland.”

The statue depicts the Norwegian in full national kit with a football at his feet. It is believed that Mr Sivertsen spent £10,000 commissioning the statue, with the plan to eventually auction it off to help fund a hospital in Tanzania.

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