Inside Erling Haaland’s notoriously private relationship with long-term partner Isabel Haugseng Johansen

Erling Haaland is the breakout star of the World Cup with the globe swooning over the Norway striker’s talent on the field as well as his off-the-field antics.

Haaland, 25, has built a distinct online identity revolving around football, gaming and fashion with fans instantly recognising his trademark blonde ponytail, but we know very little about his family life. Haaland and Isabel Haugseng Johansen, 22, have been together for five years and have a son but are notoriously private.

With Haaland’s fame rising at a rapid speed (50 million followers and counting), here’s everything we do and don’t know about him away from football.

How did Haaland and Haugseng Johansen meet?

The pair go way back! Haadland and Johansen played on the same soccer team together when they were kids.

They both grew up in Bryne, a small town in southwestern Norway, and both played on the same youth team.

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Haaland grew up to become a professional footballer, playing for Manchester City and representing Norway’s national team in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while Haugseng Johansen moved away from soccer and into the fashion space.

Despite knowing each other since they were children, they weren’t romantically linked until 2021.

We do know that the pair reconnected via Instagram DM, with Haugseng Johansen sending him a message first.

“She sent me a message. But she played for the same club I played for, Bryne. So she checked me out, I didn’t check her out,” Haaland said in an interview with the Norwegian national broadcaster, NRK.

The pair are not yet married. Haaland hasn’t discusses plans of proposing, but he has mentioned their future wedding before – so perhaps it’s only a matter of time.

The pair share a son together

Haaland announced that he and Haugseng Johansen were expecting a child with a cheeky post to X.

The footballer posted a photo of himself with a fake pregnancy belly and his thumb in his mouth, with the caption “baby soon” in October 2024.

The pair welcomed their son in December but have never shared his name or face publicly.

Haaland has, however, spoken about how becoming a dad changed his perspective on football and life.

“I’ve never felt better than now, and to be honest, with a kid, it makes me even better because I actually disconnect [from work] more than ever,” He told Sky Sports.

“I don’t think of football at all, which sometimes, when you are younger, you think of this and that. You worry a little bit about things. But when I go home, I relax even more. I think I need to give a shout-out to my son.”

The star footballer also revealed that he may have to miss some of his son’s early birthday’s if a match falls on the same day, but added that his family will be set for life if he continues playing football.

“It could be [that] suddenly I have to play a game on his birthday. There are many on the team who miss their children’s birthdays. That’s just how our lives are,” he told NKR.

“After my career, I can be at every birthday and every final. So right now I just have to take one for the team and hopefully be there if I can.”

Their day-to-day life

While Haaland is on the pitch, Haugseng Johansen is busy being a mum and influencer, with 898,000 followers on Instagram.

She recently became an ambassador for Norwegian jewellers Juvelér Langaard, and often posts updates from the pair’s life, including trips to Paris and Rome, as well as snaps from her recent visit to Texas to watch Haaland play in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

At home, the pair share many interests, including a love of gaming, according to Haaland.

“I’ll make dinner,” he told NRK, talking about their version of date night. “It’s going to be quite embarrassing for her that I say this, but she likes to game, too. So we play Minecraft together.”

“Then we just sit and “game” and make houses together and everything like that. Or we go home to Bryne and order kebabs.”