Erling Haaland becomes the first “real person” in Clash of Clans

Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland is becoming a playable video game character in Clash of Clans this week. It’s the first time a real person has been added to the game, and footballer Haaland will become the Barbarian King character during a month-long football-themed seasonal event.

Clash players will be able to recruit the Norwegian striker or raid his village and ruin it — perfect if you’re an Arsenal fan like me.

Haaland has played Clash of Clans for more than 10 years and reached out to Supercell, the Finnish game developers behind the popular mobile game, to make a partnership happen. Supercell jumped at the opportunity. “When we heard Erling Haaland was a fan of our game and that he wanted to partner with us, it was really a dream scenario,” says Stuart McGaw, general manager of Clash of Clans.

Haaland was around 10 years old when he first discovered Clash, and has built up an in-game village in the fantasy-themed world. “I’ve been a huge fan of the game for a long time and know everything about it, so to appear as an in-game character is really cool,” says Haaland.

The special Haaland season starts tomorrow and runs until May 31st, and if you take down Haaland in the battlefield you’ll win additional rewards and a place on the leaderboards.

Still, it’s not as cool as having your own PERi-PERi Saka sauce in Nando’s, because everyone loves a cheeky Nando’s.