Update (5/4/23): After swirling rumours around which footwear brand the rising superstar Erling Haaland would partner with, it has been confirmed that the Manchester City striker has finally inked a deal with Nike that will see him paid $36 million a year to wear the Swoosh. The Norwegian footballer had previously been signed with Nike from the age of 14 until his contract expired at the start of 2022, leaving him as a free agent for the past year as he courted offers from the biggest shoe brands in the world.
Not only will this effectively make Haaland a Nike man for his entire career, with the contract understood to be for at least a decade, but the Scandinavian joins the legendary likes of Kylian Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford, Sam Kerr, and Man City teammate Kevin De Bruyne on the Nike roster. With a remarkable 42 goals to his name in all competitions for the 22/23 season (including 28 in the Premier League and 10 in the Champions League), Haaland’s Nike deal almost doubles his playing salary as it currently stands.
Original Article: Multiple reports have indicated that Manchester City striker, Erling Haaland, is on track to sign an extremely lucrative football boot deal with Nike that’s certainly befitting an athlete of his calibre.
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The magic number in the conversation is £20 million ($35.8 million) per year, which only just exceeds his £19.5 million ($34.9 million) player salary, according to Spotrac. Not a bad way to effectively double your annual take home, if you ask me.
The Norwegian extraordinaire’s stock has never been higher, hence the eyewatering figure. In his ongoing season with the reigning Premier League champions, he’s already scored an incredible 27 goals (33 counting the UEFA Champions League and EFL Cup), outperforming his next closest rival in Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane by a dominant margin.
For reference, the 2021-22 Premier League Golden Boot winners (Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min) only scored 23 apiece by the season’s end.
While Erling Haaland has been seen playing in the Nike Zoom Mercurial Superflys among a rotation of kicks from PUMA and adidas over the past few months, the 22-year-old talent has (obviously) yet to declare his allegiance to a sportswear brand since his previous Nike contract expired last year. Although he has noted his decision will essentially come down to functionality, comfort, and product satisfaction — not $$$.
Having been with the American company since the age of 14, you’d assume said decision would be a no-brainer. But clearly, young Haaland wanted to take his time and weigh up the options on hand, i.e. PUMA, the long-term kit partner of Manchester City; and adidas, which are looking to fill their Lionel Messi-shaped hole as modern football’s GOAT eyes retirement.
