An ice cream man was left stunned when Manchester City star Erling Haaland boarded his van and began serving frozen treats to fans.
Ejaz Azam had just finished a 14-hour shift when he heard a knock on the window of his truck, which was parked at Depot Mayfield in Manchester city centre. Haaland, who was out celebrating City's historic treble win, then jumped on board and made himself a 'blue slush' and whipped up an ice cream.
"I was so shocked," said Mr Azam, from Oldham. "I was not expecting it at all. "
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Mr Azam, 36, had been serving ice cream to City supporters at a VIP event at Depot Mayfield following City's open-top bus parade through Manchester city centre on Monday.
After serving almost 300 ice creams, Mr Azam finished for the night. But shortly after closing up, he heard a knock on the window at about 12.30am.
"It was dark outside so I wasn't able to see," he explained. "I was not in the mood to serve anybody so told the person I was closed and he said 'are you going to say no to Haaland?'
"He said 'if you're closed, it's no problem'. When I realised it was Haaland, I thought I can't say no."
Mr Azam said he decided to invite the footballer, who was wearing gold Dolce & Gabbana pyjamas, inside the van.
"He kept saying it was incredible," said Mr Azam, who owns Mr Whippy Ice Cream. "I put the machine on and he made the slush for himself.
"People started queuing outside the van and he was selling slush to them and made an ice cream for himself. For his first time, he did really well."
Mr Azam described the experience of meeting the Norwegian footballer as 'mind-blowing'.
"He was marvellous," he added. "A really nice person and really polite. My son is a City fan and Haaland is one of his favourite players.
"When I told him the next day, he said I should have taken him with me."
Following his surprise encounter, Mr Azam, whose normal round is in Chadderton, shared pictures of himself and Haaland on social media. Since then, he said his regulars have been queueing up to hear his story.
"My customers are loving it," he said. "They have been taking selfies with me."
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