Back to the Manchester City Newsfeed

Revealed: The REAL reason Erling Haaland skipped the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris despite Man City star being nominated for the 2024 award

Erling Haaland skived off the Ballon d'Or ceremony to watch his childhood friend win the Swedish league title - despite being nominated for football's top prize.

The Manchester City striker was present for Malmo's 2-1 win over Goteborg which saw them win the Allsvenskan title at home.

His long-time friend and Norway team-mate Erik Botheim was playing up front for Malmo, who sealed a fourth league crown in five seasons.

The pair grew up in the Norwegian youth system together and in 2016 recorded a song called Kygo jo, forming a band named Flow Kingz with defender Erik Tobias Sandberg.