Haaland’s journey to become football’s best-paid star
Robin Bairner
- 26 Aug 2021 07:28 CDT
- 3 min read
When Erling Haaland completes his transfer away from Borussia Dortmund next summer, there is a strong possibility that he will become the world’s best paid player when he does so.
For the 20-year-old, it will cap a remarkable ascent in the game, which saw him start out at modest Bryne and work his way to the very summit via Molde, Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund.
Exactly where he might up is unclear. Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are just six of the clubs associated with a potential move for the prolific attacker, but at whichever of these superpowers he joins, he is sure to command a formidable wage.
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Indeed, agent Mino Raiola is demanding that Haaland is paid €50 million per year.
That is a lavish sum in the post-pandemic world, with the biggest contracts being signed this year typically coming in around the €35m per year mark. That is what PSG have paid both Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, meanwhile, signed a deal in April worth a little more than €23m per year – the highest wage in Premier League history.
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, is presently on €60m at Juventus, but his next deal will fall far short of that. Indeed, his contract is up next summer, so even if he does not move immediately, his figure will fall away dramatically.
Haaland is poised to obliterate these figures.
Erling Haaland's wage history
| Club | Annual wage (€) |
|---|---|
| Bryne (2015) | 4,800 |
| Molde (2017) | 72,000 |
| RB Salzburg (2019) | 900,000 |
| Dortmund (2020) | ~9,000,000 |
| ??? (2022) | 50,000,000 |
His wage has been rising exponentially since the beginning of his career, with Bryne paying him a mere €4,800 as a youth player back in 2015, according to Sport Bild.
When he graduated to Molde, he would take home a salary of €72,000 per year – a fine wage by normal standards but meagre in footballing terms.
It was when he moved to Salzburg that things really started to get going for him, with the Austrian side paying him €900,000 annually.
When Haaland made his big switch to Dortmund, he took a similarly giant leap in terms of salary, with his wage rising around 10 times. He is now paid somewhere between €8-10m.
Haaland’s final step will be completed in 12 months, and whoever is lucky enough to claim him will have a handsome price to pay.
