Norwegian striker Erling Braut Haaland is rapidly raising his goal numbers and simultaneously building his net worth as a footballer of repute.
The Manchester City striker has been punishing his opponents in the English Premier League (EPL) ever since he joined the side in the summer transfer window from Bundesliga team Borussia Dortmund.
His playing style and goal-scoring ability have intensified the comparisons with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and French forward Kylian Mbappé, who won the Golden Boot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Mbappé is known for his speed, agility, passing and ability to find the back of the net from almost anywhere on the field.
Erling Haaland: The Norwegian who has been battering the opposition
Early career in Norway, Austria and Germany
Haaland is the son of footballer Alfie Haaland, who, too, played for City in the early 2000s. As a Norwegian, he plays for the Norway national team, for which he has scored 21 goals in 23 appearances.
His professional club career started in Norway, where he played for clubs, Bryne and Molde. His move to the Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg was significant, as he won the Austrian Bundesliga for the team.
His speed, strength and accuracy quickly led to his move to Dortmund in January 2020 for a reported transfer fee of around USD 22 million. He was so incredible that he won the Bundesliga’s Player of the Month award for January 2020 despite playing for just one hour on the pitch.
In just over two seasons with the club, Haaland became a phenomenon in the world of football. He dodged defenders and punished goalkeepers of opposing teams, including the powerful Bayern Munich, with brute aggression hardly seen before.
The goal machine hammered 86 goals in 89 appearances in total for Dortmund and effected 23 assists. He also got eight yellow cards. His outstanding form helped Dortmund win the German Cup in the 2020-21 season.
Manchester City and records in Premier League
Erling Haaland’s move to the Premier League club City happened in June 2022, when he was netted by the Pep Guardiola-led side for around USD 62 million.
Within six months, the Norwegian machine shattered records and cemented his name as one of the greatest footballers the Premier League has ever seen.
Within a span of five days, between 27 August and 31 August, he scored two hat-tricks to become the fastest individual to do so in the Premier League. It took his tally to nine goals in just five matches.
On 2 October, he scored his third hat-trick in the Premier League during a match against rival Manchester United. The goals brought his tally to 14 in just eight matches.
It marked his third consecutive home game hat-trick for City. The number helped Haaland break Michael Owen’s record for the fewest games required to score three hat-tricks.
Interestingly, his three hat-tricks are as many as Jamie Vardy, Robbie Keane, Didier Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo got in their entire Premier League careers.
On 29 December, Haaland scored a brace against Leeds, setting another milestone in the process. The two goals took his total goal tally in the Premier League to 20, making him the first player in the league’s history to do so before January and the fastest player by appearances (14 games) to get to the tally.
Some believe Haaland, the leading goal-scorer of the Premier League 2022-23, will go past 60 goals by the end of the season. Even if that doesn’t happen, his phenomenal goal-scoring rate could see him easily eclipse the record of 34 goals set by Andy Cole in the 1993-94 season and matched by Alan Shearer in 1994-95 season.
Haaland has also set records at the UEFA Champions League. He played in the mega-club tournament for three teams in his career — Salzburg, Dortmund and City.
As of 30 December 2022, Haaland has scored 28 goals in just 22 games in the Champions League. He became Norway’s top-scoring Champions League player in just 14 games, surpassing Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s 19 goals in 77 games.
Erling Haaland’s net worth, salary and endorsement earnings
Unlike 2022 FIFA World Cup champion Lionel Messi or Brazilian icon Neymar Jr., there is hardly any information about how the Norwegian spends his wealth. This is possibly because he is still making his way up the net worth ladder.
As per Forbes, Haaland’s off-field earnings are just USD 4 million. The amount comes from his engagements with brands such as Hyperice, Viaplay and Samsung.
But he earns a very high salary at City.
The Daily Mail has previously reported that Erling Haaland’s salary is around USD 1 million per week. Based on the figure, he is the highest-paid footballer in the Premier League. Journalist Mike Keegan explains that the high salary is because of his goals and bonuses based on the results.
This means that as his goals continue to rise and City keeps winning matches, his market value will proportionately move northwards. Estimates suggest that by the end of the season, Haaland might earn up to USD 55 million as wages. This figure is around USD 20 million more than his reported on-field salary of USD 35 million.
There is more. As per Forbes, Haaland’s success will also have an impact on his endorsements. Though his deal with Nike ended early in 2022, he can make close to USD 18 million from whichever shoe brand he next signs up as an ambassador.
(Main and Featured images: Erling Haaland/@ErlingHaaland/Twitter)
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