Serbian Tennis legend Novak Djokovic expressed gratitude towards Manchester City and Norway forward Erling Haaland for calling him his idol. Haaland surged into the upper echelon of the footballing world after an unstoppable 2022-23 season where he played a crucial part in Manchester City's historic treble. On the other hand, Novak Djokovic has cemented himself as arguably the greatest tennis player in history.
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Djokovic won the Australian, French and US Open to reach a historic milestone of 24 Grand Slams, the most in men's tennis. Pointing out these landmark achievements and his inspirational journey to the top, Erling Haaland named the Serbian superstar as his sporting hero from another sport.
Novak Djokovic responds to Erling Haaland
Speaking on the Manchester City podcast, Haaland said, “I like Djokovic. I think he’s good. He’s being himself, and yeah, what he’s achieved is also amazing, coming from nowhere and from his country. So, yeah, I’ll take Djokovic.” Responding to these comments, the 24-time Grand Slam winner took X (formerly Twitter) and thanked the Norwegian forward. Djokovic posted, " Thank you bro @ErlingHaaland."
Erling Haaland's dominant 2022-23 season
Looking back at Erling Haaland's 2022-23 season, the Nowergien forward dominated across every tournament as he scored the most Premier League goals in one season with 36 and the most goals across all competitions by a PL player with a whopping 52. He took home the Premier League Golden Boot, City's first European Golden Shoe, Premier League Player of the Season, Premier League Young Player of the Season, FWA Men’s Footballer of the Year, UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, the Ballon d’Or Gerd Muller Trophy. Despite these accolades, Haaland was the runner-up in the main Ballon d’Or competition.