- Sculpture stood in home town of Bryne
- Cost £10,000 to create
- Faced opposition from unhappy locals
WHAT HAPPENED? The sculpture, which cost £10,000 ($11,840) to commission and was due to be auctioned off to help fund a hospital in Tanzania, stood in the Norwegian’s home town of Bryne. Unhappy locals were never taken by the creation, which was placed above a store in the town, and somebody has now taken matters into their own hands.
WHAT THEY SAID: Tore Sivertsen, who owns a tractor dealership, was the man that got the statue made and he has told The Sun of seeing it go missing: “I thought it would be good to commission a statue to pay tribute. Some have complained it’s too ugly though, let’s face it, Erling is not a pretty guy. But I was still shocked that someone decided to steal it.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The statue of Haaland, which was removed at night with the aid of a crane, had been crafted from a 100-year-old log. Questions were asked of its likeness to the superstar striker from the moment it was unveiled, adding to a list of iconic performers in football seeing bizarre sculptures created in their honour.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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GettyDID YOU KNOW? Erling Haaland is the third player to score in each of his first two Premier League away games for Man City after Emmanuel Adebayor and Emile Mpenza.
WHAT NEXT? Haaland joined City from Borussia Dortmund for £51 million ($60m) over the summer and bagged a brace on his Premier League debut for the club. The reigning champions will be back in action on August 27 when they play host to Crystal Palace.
