Erling Braut Haaland must have felt like he was on audition during Borussia Dortmund's Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City.The Norweigan starlet, who has stunningly amassed 49 goals in just 50 appearances in Germany, has been thrust into the shop window for Europe's biggest clubs to admire over the last few days.And with Mino Raiola reportedly wafting around mega-money demands in the face of juggernauts like Barcelona and Real Madrid, it feels as though an almighty race for Haaland is about to ensue.
Haaland linked to Man City
However, while we'll have to wait until the summer when it comes to Haaland's next move, there are already murmurs that the Etihad Stadium could be the best place for the 20-year-old to call home.
As well as having links to the club through his father, Alf-Inge, the Dortmund striker appears to be a natural replacement for the departing Sergio Aguero and City aren't exactly short of financial brawn.
And with Haaland conveniently having drawn the Citizens in the Champions League last eight, the stage was set for a bizarre 'try before you buy' scenario depending on which reports you believe.
Man City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
In the end, Pep Guardiola's men had the last laugh during a topsy-turvy encounter, securing a 2-1 win courtesy of Phil Foden's late winner after Marco Reus neutralised Kevin De Bruyne's opener.
Haaland was unable to carve out a goal of his own, looking isolated for great swathes of the game, though did come close to converting a one-on-one after outmuscling Ruben Dias.
Nevertheless, Haaland's performance was still worthy of a signature after the final whistle, but not in the way you'd expect as one of the Champions League assistant referees stopped him in the tunnel.
Haaland approach by linesman
In an unexpected encounter that many considered to be unprofessional, the official asked Haaland for his signature and watched in delight as the Dortmund forward duly obliged.
It was undoubtedly a surreal moment, particularly on a night where the officials were so roundly criticised for ruling out a Dortmund goal and the BT Sport line-up were certainly perturbed.
You can check out the full footage of the exchange at the Etihad Stadium down below:
A brillian cause
However, in the days since Octavian Sovre approached Haaland for his autograph, it's emerged that the encounter was by no means for selfish gains and actually had very charitable intentions.
Sky Sports' Paul Gilmour confirmed that Sovre is using the autograph to raise money for an autism centre that he works with after contacting the Romanian FA.
Reports from Romania even claim that the linesman has been collecting the signatures of top footballers for the past five years. You can't argue with that.
Nevertheless, Sovre's good intentions might not absolve him of punishment from UEFA with the governing body banning match officials, as well as media, from collecting autographs.