Why Man City star Erling Haaland was at the Arndale Centre on Sunday

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was at the Arndale Centre on Sunday evening to promote the launch of Nike’s latest boot release.

The Norwegian, who has not played for City since 6 December due to a foot injury, made an exclusive appearance at Sports Direct to launch the new Nike Phantom Mad Ready boot pack.

Haaland was the subject of a Q&A session with local children who were invited, while social media influencers and members of the press were also in attendance.

Several kids were also chose at random by Haaland to take part in a shoot drill, with the City star handing out advice on how to become an expert finisher just like him. The former Borussia Dortmund man did not take part in the shooting drill himself as he continues to recover from his foot injury.

Haaland was pictured with the new Nike boots and took time out to pose for photos with fans, in a rare city-centre appearance for one of world football's biggest stars. The forward signed a 10-year partnership with Nike in March last year and is among the brand's biggest global stars, along with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe.

Haaland has missed City's last 10 matches due to his foot injury, but manager Pep Guardiola said on Thursday that the player is training pain-free once again and could be in line to return against Burnley on Wednesday night.

Since signing for City in 2022, the 23-year-old has scored 71 goals in 75 games and helped guide the club to a maiden Champions League triumph last season, as the Blues won the treble for the first time in their history.