Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland said he is ‘thankful’ that Neymar and PSG mocked his celebration after their Champions League match-up.
In the first leg of their knockout tie, the 19-year-old scored an impressive brace in a 2-1 victory for the German side. He celebrated both of his goals by sitting with his legs crossed and pretending to meditate. After the second leg, where PSG won 2-0 and secured their place in the quarter-finals, the French side mocked the striker’s celebration.
However, despite the potential worldwide humiliation, Haaland explained that he is ‘thankful’ that Neymar and his team-mates mocked him.
Erling Braut Haaland (right) said he is ‘thankful’ PSG stars mocked his meditating celebration
The French side did it after their Champions League tie but Haaland was happy they did
‘I think they helped me a lot to get meditation out in the world and to show the whole world that meditation is an important thing so I’m thankful that they helped me with that,’ Haaland explained to ESPN.
The striker has admitted that he likes to meditate a lot before matches and it clearly helps him perform on the pitch.
The celebration has already become a trademark for the young talent who has continued to impress at Dortmund after his barnstorming rise to stardom at RB Salzburg.
The striker explained that they helped ‘show the world that meditation is an important thing’
Haaland has scored a total of 40 goals in 33 appearances across all competitions for both Dortmund and Salzburg this season. Ten of those goals have come in the Champions League, where he has shown no mercy on the biggest stage of all.
He said: ”I feel I’m improving every day and now that I play with even better team-mates than what I played with in Salzburg – all respect to Salzburg.
‘But yeah, they can find me in even better situations and this, so yeah it’s been good. It’s been a good first months.’
