The craziest thing about Erling Haaland’s £500,000-a-week salary? It makes sense | Sean Ingle
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Manchester City striker’s wages may appear outrageous but they are in line with the level of pay given to other superstars. What do you make of Erling Haaland’s new £500,000-a-week basic salary? Ridiculous? Staggering? Obscene at a time when too many children are arriving at school unfed? That seemed to be the prevailing view after his 10-year contract with Manchester City was announced on Friday. Even Haaland admitted his contract was “a bit crazy”.
![[Sean Ingle]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/09/Sean-Ingle,-L.png?width=180&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
But do you know what may be crazier still? Haaland making £26m a year actually makes sense. For football reasons, yes. Because of what economists call the “superstar” effect – which explains why the gap between the sporting super elite and the next best is widening.
![[Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes throws against Houston Texans]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/03c1b55bdb2c88217fd7efdfe0ad768dfbe44261/0_112_3925_2354/master/3925.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
More of that later. But first some context. In 2021 the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes signed a 10-year deal worth almost $500m (£410m). But when it comes to huge salaries we are not in Kansas any more. Last month Juan Soto signed a 15-year contract with the New York Mets worth $765m (£628m). In Formula One rumours have linked Max Verstappen with a $1bn (£820m) switch to Aston Martin.
In fact, according to Forbes magazine, the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes made a record $3.88bn (£3.19bn) in wages and endorsements in 2023 – up 13% from the previous year. Haaland’s ranking? A mere 27th with earnings of $61m a year – well behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and his closest contemporary Kylian Mbappé, who made $110m.
While Haaland’s salary is outlandish, so is his talent. The bald statistics – 80 Premier League goals in two and a half seasons – tell you that. Mohamed Salah, as brilliant as he is, has scored 55 in that period. Given that Haaland is only 24, City can realistically hope for another six or seven years where he is topping the goalscoring charts.
