Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez are known to be best very good friends both on and off the field.
The deadly duo have had a good run in the season where Pep Guardiola’s men went on to complete a dream treble – the League double – Premier League, FA Cup and the till-now elusive UEFA Champions League.
But if there is one issue in which issue in which they differ then it is the loyalty of Haaland to his first club Boca Juniors , who are arch rivals of Alvarez’s boyhood club River Plate in the Argentine Primera Division.
The Argentinian World Cup-winner has always taunted the Norwegian superstar for his unfettered love for his boyhood club and despite his many futile attempts, Haaland has remained loyal to Boca.
Pictures of Haaland in a Boca jersey is splashed all over social media and Manchester City’s new signing Maximo Perrone was candid while admitting that Haaland will stay loyal to Boca irrespective of how much Alvarez tries to turn him into a River Plate fan.
“He was puncturing Haaland with River although she still couldn’t convince him. It seems that he likes Boca”, Perrone was quoted as saying in an interview with D Sports Radio.
While there are many who took Haaland donning the blue and gold Boca just as a publicity/marketing stunt, Perrone is 100 per cent sure that the Norwegian did it out of loyalty and love and nothing else.
“He’s a loyal fan,” added Perrone.
Dream debut
Haaland, who switched to City just before the start of the season from Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund had a terrific debut season at Ethihad, scoring 52 goals in all for Guardiola’s men and 36 alone in Premier League.
“Haaland is a very good person. He is an animal on the pitch, he is hungry for football, for winning” added Perrone in the interview about Haaland’s total commitment to the game.
Argentinian winger Alvarez, a member of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup squad, joined Guardiola’s Manchester City from Boca Juniors’ Argentinian League rivals River Plate and the duo have quickly adapted well to life in the top tier of English football.
Bone of contention
The duo share an excellent rapport both on and off the field and the only way they could with each other is when the talk of Boca comes to the table.
“Since I arrived in City, he used to tell me that he was a Boca fan and talked to me about La Bombonera. I think he was with Leonardo Balerdi at Borussia Dortmund and that was a bit of an influence. Let’s see if we can change it little by little, it’s going to be difficult but we’re going to try,” Alvarez had said at the time of joining the Premier League champions in the last summer transfer window.
But one year down the line nothing much has changed as Haaland’s loyalty to Boca Juniors remains one area where the two talented duo cannot agree! Love for the first club is something which