The Premier League returned to action this weekend, with many of the stars that rocked the World Cup while representing their home countries this summer returning to club football.
It was nice seeing so many familiar faces back on our screens, but one of the most famous faces of all was not that familiar. Erling Haaland, who dominated over the summer for Norway, had cut off his signature blonde locks of hair ahead of his first match back with Manchester City.
Rebecca Lowe was the voice of every fan watching from home when she expressed her shock at Haaland’s new look.
“It’s still very jarring,” Lowe said. “Sorry, if you’ve just woken up, you aren’t seeing things. He’s cut all his hair off. It is still very bizarre.”
After talking about the stakes of Haaland’s upcoming season, the conversation rightfully returned to his hair.
“World Cup fans tuning in saying, ‘Where’s the guy with the hair?’ That is the guy with the hair,” Lowe assured the viewing audience.
New hair. New manager. New season.
Erling Haaland starting fresh after a summer to remember 😎 pic.twitter.com/4dZzHI7N2t
— USA Sports (@usasports) August 23, 2026
Of course, there is plenty more to talk about regarding the new Premier League season than the hair of one of its greatest superstars. But it is also kind of a big deal!
It’s possible that no star in soccer raised their profile more over the summer than Haaland did while scoring ridiculous goal after ridiculous goal. He had an active social media presence throughout the tournament, bringing in new fans that could follow him into the fall as Man City started its season. And then the first time those new fans have the chance to see him playing soccer again, he looks completely unrecognizable. Haaland’s hair was as signature a look as any player in world soccer had, and he just decided to shave it all off.
For his part, Haaland seems excited, or at least unbothered by the change.
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The jury is still out, though, on whether shaved-head Haaland will be as dominant as his long-haired predecessor. City was able to gut out a 2–1 win over Bournemouth to open the season, but needed two goals past the 80th minute to do it. Neither one was netted by Haaland.
About Tyler Lauletta
Tyler is a editorial contributor at Awful Announcing, with previous stops at Sports Illustrated and Business Insider during his career covering sports in digital media. He is, begrudgingly, a Truster of the Process and general Philly sports sicko.