ERLING HAALAND has been offered compassionate leave following the death of his father’s best friend and his ‘uncle’, Ivar Eggja.
The Manchester City striker shared a touching message for his confidant who passed away on Wednesday, aged 59.
Haaland has been told he is free to take a bereavement break by Pep Guardiola.
This means the Premier League’s top goalscorer could be absent for Brentford’s visit the Etihad at 3pm on Saturday.
Haaland returned from his Nations League break in Norway to train with Man City on Thursday, but Guardiola stresses that family comes first.
In March, Haaland bravely played through the heartbreak of losing his paternal grandmother against Copenhagen.
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Her death happened on the same day that he scored a brace against Everton in the Prem.
Eggja was best man at Alfie Haaland’s wedding, as they shared a friendship which lasted decades.
Seen as a chief fixer for the Haaland family, Eggja was also known as ‘uncle’ to Erling.
He became a mentor and adviser to the 24-year-old as he helped him adapt to life at Borussia Dortmund.
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The golden boot winner took to Instagram to publicly pay his respects to the late Eggja, posting a photo of himself holding his hand as he lay in his hospital bed.
Haaland’s caption read: “You are a legend, Ivar. Words cannot describe how much you meant to me!
“Words cannot describe how much you will be missed. I don’t give a s**t! I don’t give a s**! That’s exactly what I’m going to do.
“Thank you for everything, you madman. We will see each other again. Rest in peace.”
Eggja was present for Haaland’s unveiling at the Etihad in 2022 and attended last year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, where Haaland came second behind Lionel Messi.
The Norwegian star has enjoyed a sensational start to the season, scoring seven goals in just three games, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Ipswich and West Ham.
He bagged the only goal of the game when Thomas Frank’s side last travelled to Man City.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
