Footballer Erling Haaland believes that the quality of meat and milk is “even better” when the animals are taken care of.
In his debut video as a ‘Youtuber’, Haaland takes his fans through a day in his life, which includes stopping at a local farm shop on his way to training.
Haaland, who plays for Manchester City and the Norway national team, stopped into Greenoaks Farm in Mobberley, Cheshire to pick up some milk for the fridge…but left with his hands full, taking several cuts of beef and several jars of honey for his entourage, all sourced from the farm.
You can check out an extract from Haaland’s video below (credit to Erling Haaland via YouTube).
The Premier League’s top scorer this season was also asked if he might consider stopping by the farm to help out with the milking.
The footballer has previously spoken about the role of livestock-sourced food in his diet as an elite athlete.
Greenoaks Farm describes itself as a ‘cow with calf micro dairy’.
The farm says that it milks 16 cows, with the calves kept with the cow until weaning. The calves then remain on the farm until around two-years-of-age, when they are sent to a local butcher.
The farm produces its own pasteurised whole milk, unpasteurised raw milk (Haaland’s milk of choice), flavoured milk, beef, and honey from on-farm hives.
The farm began milking in November 2019 with just three cows and, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, expanded to 16 cows and selling up to 200L of milk a day.
Speaking about his taste for beef, Haaland said: “I like fatty steaks the most – ribeye, tomahawk obviously. One of my favourites is short rib, it’s amazing.
“It’s good quality, that’s what I like the most, and they take good care of the animals, which is also important. I think then the quality is even better.”
When a member of his entourage asked if Haaland would be good at handling the cows, Helen from Greenoaks Farm said: “I’m sure he’d manage” – although she noted that it would have to be an evening milking.
“Next time you come, we’ll get you to milk one of the cows,” Helen said.
Leaving the farm, Haaland said: “Meat in one hand, milk in the other, I’m super happy.
“I expected only milk, and we went out with a lot of steak, milk and honey, so perfect.”
And the Norwegian international did not waste any time in eating the meat: at the end of his ‘day-in-the-life’ video, Haaland barbecued the meat with his partner Isabel Johansen (who is also a footballer) for dinner.
Haaland’s preference for locally sourced meat and dairy must be doing something right for him, as the 25-year-old is regarded as one of the best footballers in the world.
