Soccer fans in China are rooting for Norway’s Erling Haaland, their ‘Ha Bao’

There may not be any Chinese players at this year’s World Cup, but China has found its own soccer hero: Norwegian striker Erling Haaland.

BEIJING — There may not be any Chinese players at this year’s World Cup, but China has found its own soccer hero: Norwegian striker Erling Haaland.

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The 6-foot-4 Manchester City star is a sensation on Chinese social media, where fans affectionately refer to him as “Ha Bao,” which translates to “Baby Ha.”

“I never thought I’d end up liking another footballer after Cristiano Ronaldo,” Gum Li, a 34-year-old from Guangdong province, told NBC News via a messaging app on Wednesday. “But he won me over after I watched a lot of social media videos of Haaland playing for Manchester City, as well as videos of his funny moments off the pitch.”