“He doesn’t like the spotlight” – Rafaela Pimenta’s peak through the curtain into Manchester City’s Erling Haaland

Pimenta: Football is the most serious game he can play

In a recent interview with ESPN Netherlands, Pimenta was warm and specific in her description of Haaland, drawing a clear contrast between his on-pitch intensity and his off-pitch demeanour.

“His demeanour is very informal; he’s very pleasant, very relaxed, modest,” she said on the 25-year-old forward, as quoted by Sport Witness.

“He doesn’t like the spotlight, doesn’t like nonsense. He likes to focus on what really matters: football. To him, football is the most serious game you can play.”

The portrait is consistent with the glimpses Haaland has offered of himself in public – a player who has consistently deflected personal attention back towards his teammates and whose social media presence, while playful at times, rarely strays far from football.

His Snapchat post celebrating Leeds United‘s win over Manchester United earlier this season offered perhaps the most unguarded version of the Norwegian the public has seen – and even then, the caption was simply “Get in”.

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What does Pimenta’s assessment tell us about Haaland?

Pimenta’s description of Haaland as modest and averse to the spotlight is notable given the scale of his achievements since joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.

The Norwegian has broken scoring records at a pace that has few parallels in the history of English football, yet Pimenta’s words suggest none of it has altered the fundamental simplicity of his relationship with the game.

For City, that singularity of focus is arguably as valuable as the goals themselves. With four Premier League games remaining and an FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley on the horizon, Guardiola will be counting on Haaland to deliver when it matters most – as he has done so often before. On the evidence of Pimenta’s assessment, his mind will already be there.