Isabel Haugseng Johansen’s Cheeky Confession: “I Liked Your Best Friend First… Then I Saw You and Changed My View”
MANCHESTER – November 20, 2025 – Erling Haaland and his girlfriend Isabel Haugseng Johansen have just given fans the cutest, most relatable love story of the season. In a candid interview with Norwegian outlet VG, the Manchester City striker and his long-time partner opened up about how they first met as teenagers back in Bryne, Norway — and Isabel dropped a bombshell that had Haaland laughing in disbelief: she originally had a crush on his best friend.
“She only knew your best friend, so he was the one who I liked first,” Isabel, 21, admitted with a mischievous grin, “but then when I saw you I changed my view.” Haaland, 25, threw his head back in mock horror before bursting into laughter. “She played football, we met and all of that — it’s nice because you understand football,” he explained. “She remembers the many times she saw me when we were younger, but I don’t. I had that YouTube video singing with my friends…” Isabel quickly jumped in: “Exactly! That video made me switch teams.”
The couple’s origin story is pure small-town romance. Both grew up in Bryne FK’s youth system — Erling as the prodigy who would become the world’s most feared striker, Isabel as a talented midfielder on the girls’ team. They knew of each other as kids, but it wasn’t until 2022, after Haaland’s £51 million move to Manchester City, that they reconnected properly. Isabel, then studying and working part-time in England, started dating the Norwegian goal machine, and the pair have been inseparable ever since — often spotted courtside at NBA games, on luxury holidays, or walking their vizsla puppy in Cheshire.
Despite Haaland’s global fame and a lifestyle that includes private jets and £500k watches, the couple insist they’re still the same Bryne kids at heart. “We speak Norwegian at home, eat Norwegian food, and argue about who was better at penalties when we were 12,” Isabel laughed. Haaland, ever the gentle giant off the pitch, added: “I think it’s fate… but she says no!” — earning another playful shove from Isabel.
Fans have fallen even harder for the pair. The clip of Isabel’s confession has racked up 8 million views in 24 hours, with comments flooded by heart-eyes emojis and jokes like “Even Haaland had to wait for the transfer window to close on his own mate.” One viral tweet read: “Imagine being Erling’s best friend and losing your crush to a guy who scores hat-tricks for fun.”
Since going official in 2023, Isabel has become a quiet fixture in Haaland’s life — celebrating his 2023 Treble, supporting him through injuries, and even teaching him how to make traditional Norwegian waffles (with limited success, by his own admission). “She keeps me grounded,” Haaland said in a recent documentary. “Football is crazy, but with her it feels normal.”
From a teenage crush on the wrong teammate to front-row seats at the Etihad, Isabel Haugseng Johansen’s love story with Erling Haaland is proof that sometimes the best transfers happen off the pitch. And yes — she definitely upgraded.
