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Off the field, Norway’s Erling Haaland has garnered widespread popularity for regularly replying to memes, liking fan edits and leaving hilarious comments on fan-made posts.
The cat lookalike of Erling Haaland sported a similar slick bun like the footballer (Image: Instagram/@kiwithebritish)
Erling Braut Haaland has been impossible to ignore since the beginning of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which concluded last month. The Norway and Manchester City striker made headlines on the pitch with his goals, which helped the country to their first-ever quarter-final. But his popularity has not been driven by football alone.
Throughout the World Cup and after, the 26-year-old footballer has won over fans online by regularly replying to memes, liking fan edits and leaving hilarious comments. His active presence on social media, particularly Instagram, has even earned him a reputation for being “chronically online”, with fans joking that getting a comment from Haaland has become an achievement in itself.
The latest example came when a viral post featured an orange cat bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Norwegian footballer. The cat was seen dressed in a Norway jersey and sported a slicked-back bun hairstyle similar to Haaland’s signature look.
In the post shared on the Instagram page by the name Kiwi, the first photo captured the cat with a slightly longer snout, which may have been edited to give it a look like Haaland. The second photo showed the original face of the orange cat with the slick bun edited to its head.
Haaland Reacts To His Feline Lookalike
The resemblance was so striking that it eventually reached Haaland himself. Reacting to the post, the footballer commented, “Looking good @erling.” In no time, his comment was liked by over 3 lakh people, with over a thousand replying to him.
“Haaland Is Everywhere”
“I loved this, especially Haaland turning into a cat,” wrote a user.
“ATP almost everything looks like Haaland,” an individual quipped.
Someone else jokingly called the cat, “Erling Meowland,” a playful combination of Haaland’s name and meow.
“Haaland is everywhere,” commented another.
“The cat looks more like Haaland than Haaland looks like himself,” said a different person.
Meanwhile, someone joked, “@erling Your life has become a meme.”
The comment is the latest in a string of social media moments that have made Haaland one of football’s most relatable stars. Rather than keeping his distance from fan-made content, the footballer, who has more than 76.5 million followers on the platform, has embraced the flood of memes, AI-generated images and humorous edits.
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A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.
August 02, 2026, 15:06 IST
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