sport news The BILLION pound man: Erling Haaland has elevated Manchester City to a ... trends now
Sometimes there are footballers who transcend the sport, albeit very few. A couple in each generation maybe and, as the curtain comes down on Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's era of dominance, the shift to others has already begun.
As Manchester City supporters battled their way through terminal four at the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport last month, they were greeted by their No 9.
Arms crossed, staring right down the lens, Erling Haaland wore a fancy Breitling watch in a prime advertising spot just beyond passport control. The picture was impossible to miss.
This is the pull Haaland now has. Commercially, he is growing into a phenomenon few can match and there is a feeling that the space is his and Kylian Mbappe's for the next decade. It is why his representative, Rafaela Pimenta, is comfortable openly talking up the prospect of breaking records.
'Erling is worth €1billion,' she said recently. 'That's not a guess, I'm sure of it. They might say I'm being ridiculous, that a club is not going to pay a billion. But his age, his quality, his progression and the way he behaves is why I talk about a billion.'
Erling Haaland has commercially grown into a phenomenon few current players can match
Norwegian is first ready-made talent City have bought since Robinho in the Sheik Mansour era
His representative Rafaela Pimenta (left) believes he is worth around €1billion - which factors in his image and sponsorship appeal
No club pays the truly big money for ability alone and her valuation factors in his image and sponsorship appeal.
There is no getting away from the fact that for City, he is a game-changer off the pitch as well as on it.
The Premier League champions have spent a fortune on talent during the Sheik Mansour era, but Haaland is the first ready-made superstar purchased since Robinho in 2008, signed on the day Abu Dhabi finance flooded in.
With that, everybody has wanted a piece this season and City will make hay.
The Norwegian, not 23 until next month and having signed a multi-million pound deal with boot manufacturers Nike, is almost always used for commercial shoots because that is what the partners want, him and Jack Grealish.
There will have been delight from sponsors in Abu Dhabi when it became clear that Haaland would travel there with City's Under-23 squad for a warm-weather camp during the World Cup.
He did not just spend that time working on an injury with the strength and conditioning coaches, but was filmed cooking with Riyad Mahrez and relaxing on a hammock for video content.
They had him greeting young locals and he gave a quick interview too.
Haaland - whose viral clip spontaneously mimicking John Stones' Yorkshire accent came from a promotional video - apparently takes this sort of thing in his stride and accepts it is part of the job. He will also surely be aware of his pull when it comes to merchandising.
City wore their new kit at Brentford on Sunday, obviously modelled by Haaland and Grealish in the unveiling promo, and have seen a surge in sales.
It is a record year for their retail department and a new shirt was bought every 12 seconds on the day of release - the highest 24 hours of trading they have ever encountered.
Haaland pictured on a private jet to the Monaco Grand Prix wearing a £1,000 two-piece red, white and black striped outfit by Dolce & Gabbana
Haaland has been seen in outfits from a range the label has with American rapper DJ Khaled, including a pink flamingo top and shorts, and a shirt decorated with a large lion face
The new City shirt was bought every 12 seconds on the day of release — the highest 24 hours of trading they have ever encountered and a lot of that was down to the appeal of Haaland
It was record-breaking on the field, too, as Haaland scored 36 goals in a single league season
Haaland cannot take sole credit for the increase in numbers but he certainly helps.
'Haaland 9' is unsurprisingly the most purchased shirt and sales have gone through the roof in Scandinavia.
He is forever in front of the television cameras. You cannot move for Haaland stuff, an omnipresence in a brilliant season.
His impact has not just been noted by the suits, busy in their meeting pods at the City Football Academy planning the next project.
It has extended to Pep Guardiola's coaching staff who, after seven years in Manchester, are now heavily invested in everything around the club, even beyond the pitch.
That much was obvious when Guardiola spoke so passionately after Premier League financial fair play charges were brought against the club in February.
They believe this signing, what he does in front of goal but also the fascination with him as an individual, elevates City to a
