Erling Haaland’s growth into the most sought-after striker in world football was aided by a ridiculous body transformation.

The 6ft 4 man mountain is closing in on a mammoth move to Manchester City, who have activated his £64 million release clause to prize him away from Borussia Dortmund.

With a medical already completed in Brussels, an announcement for Haaland’s transfer is imminent and the Norwegian is expected to put pen to paper on a deal until 2027.

A natural finisher who is freakishly strong and quick, it’s almost like Haaland was made in a lab – hence him being described as a “robot” by many fans.

But Haaland, who has 85 goals in 88 games for Dortmund says he became “a real man” after piling on OVER a stone of pure “gross muscle mass” – and it’s easy to see the difference when you compare images of him.

“If you look at my body, if you look at my legs, you will see that I have changed a lot,” the former Red Bull Salzburg man told AS.

“I am completely different. I have become a real man.

“Besides everything, I have become faster.

“That is one of the most important things. I have gone from 86 kilos to 94 (1.25 stone), but it is not a beer belly, it is about gross muscle mass. I take great care of what I eat.”

Haaland clearly put the work in when it came to the gym but at the same time a lot of his physical capabilities are simply genetic.

Erase Steenslid, a former coach of Haaland’s back in the day, claims he has “privileged genetics” and that he once gained 26 lbs of pure muscle in fifteen months.

“His body responds so well to training because his genetics are privileged,” Steenslid revealed to AS.

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“He gained twelve kilos of muscle in fifteen months. It was crazy. We built his muscle from scratch. He was always the closest to the buffet and his plate was literally a mountain of food.”

Ruben Gabrielsen was a teammate of Haaland’s at Molde and says the striker returned a “different animal”  who was “big as f**k” after an injury lay-off.

The 21-year-old once smashed the Bundesliga speed record after hitting a sprint of 36.04 km/h (22.39 mph) against Stuttgart while charging up the pitch.

But his athletic prowess was evident extremely early as a five-year-old Haaland broke the standing long jump world record for his age group.

On January 22, 2006, he jumped a staggering 1.63 metres.

Haaland’s father Alf-Inge, who played for Leeds and Man City, used to “test” his son by involving him in cross-country skiing, handball and athletics.