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For weeks, particularly during the World Cup in June/July 2026, Erling Haaland’s face was everywhere. If you’re able to tell me, nope, my algorithm did not feed me that, then, you may forget about reading this. Many people reported feeling the Haaland effect, even if you’re just watching him, or reading about him from afar. After all, you’re allowed to watch the World Cup matches live, or miss them entirely, depending on your timezone and availability. For many of us, based in Malaysia, the must-watch matches were not friendly to our circadian rhythm. Only selected ones were within our capacity to watch live.

Well, today, Haaland finally updated across his social media platforms that he did something. And whether or not the Haaland effect will continue to have the same significance as before, I’ll leave that up to you.

Perhaps it’s the new season of the English Premier League and Erling Haaland wanted to do something before the end of 2026. Sports fans and fans of Erling Haaland would probably already know about the decision he has chosen to make. The way the vlog was structured made it easy-to-follow and relatable, but also downright hilarious. Haaland may only be in his late 20s, but has inspired millions around the globe, not only to play and enjoy football, but also try out different workouts, sleep routines, food, hair ties and practicing even more humility. The thing about him is that, even non-football fans, including females can easily be fans of him because of a lot of the things and activities he does, from the way he walks, to the occasionally strange gifts he would buy (think the whiskey raccoon he bought at the end of Norway’s World Cup run). Why else would parents choose to name their newborns Erling Haaland?

Of course, with this decision concerning his appearance, comes the reactions, mostly lots of laughter and surprise. At one point, while giving himself a new look, Haaland even quipped that he looked like Kevin from Home Alone. Ha! How not to fall in love with this 1.95-metre chap?

So, what happens now to some of his endorsements like the now Norwegian previously South Korea-based hair ties? Will he be keeping them still? Or will he be donating to someone? The hair ties are RM22 per piece, which means they’re not so easily accessible to most typical Malaysians. After all, while the economy might be better for some, the cost of living is still high for many citizens.

Does this mean Haaland will be bullied less by his teammates and/or opponents because opponents would usually spot him and mark him on the pitch, especially with his previous man-bun look? Or like Zlatan was seen asking in the vlog (via smartphone video call), would it mean that he’d be faster, now with perhaps, better visibility, and no need to spend time on tying up hair before every game? On pitch, Haaland can bolt a minimum of 36km per hour! Remember that he’s still playing for Manchester City, even though he represents Norway, where his parents are originally from.

Would it be easy for new and existing fans to accept his new appearance?

Well, he once had short hair before, but this time, it’s different from previously.

Ah, who are we, as fans, to judge?

Haaland is still his goofy, smiley, humble self, fortunately. So, I’m assuming maybe he has been wanting to do this, and have a reprieve from all this fame? After all, his retirement plans seem to have been laid out.

There should be a continuation to this vlog! Who else is waiting with me to see the next part to this humourous vlog?