Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland is becoming a playable video game character in Clash of Clans this week. It’s the first time a real person has been added to the game, and footballer Haaland will become the Barbarian King character during a month-long football-themed seasonal event.

Haaland, a long-time fan of Clash of Clans, said becoming a playable character was "really cool". The fantasy video game sees players battle to build their own village and launch raids on others to seek more power. It has been downloaded more than two billion times since it was first released more than a decade ago.

Football legend Erling Haaland becomes character in billion-dollar mobile game - The new partnership sees the Manchester City forward transform into the Barbarian King in the popular game

The collaboration will run throughout the month until May 31, introducing various features centred around Manchester City's star striker.

Manchester City forward Erling Haaland has become a playable character in popular mobile video game "Clash of Clans", game developer Supercell said on Tuesday. Haaland's character is called "Barbarian King" and is the first in the game - downloaded more than 2 billion times - to be based on a real person.

The Norway striker’s character in the video game – which has been downloaded more than 2 billion times – is the first one based on a real person.