Erling Haaland returns to ally with Nike in exchange for a million dollar contract

One of the leading young stars of world football, Manchester City forward Erling Haaland, has again joined the Nike clothing company commercially, with which he signed a contract to use his shoes. Although the details of the deal have not been disclosed, according to the American magazine The Athletic, the Norwegian will pocket around 23 million euros a year.

Confirmation of a pact that had been preparing for several weeks came through the accounts of the American company on various social networks. There, an image of the striker sitting down, legs crossed and eyes closed was posted (this is how he usually celebrates some of his goals), accompanied by a message: “A new era of 9. Erling Haaland is a force of nature “. The publication was shared by the footballer on his Instagram account.

The Norwegian international player was already linked to Nike since he was 14 and played in the training divisions of Bryne FK in his country. The contract expired in January 2022 and, since then, the attacker has continued to use mainly the footwear of that company, although he has also tried some Adidas and Puma models.

In these 15 months in which Haaland has not had a contract, the two German corporations have also tried to seduce him to add him to their ranks, in which some important players have done so: Adidas has Lionel Messi as its main emblem, while Puma it has the Brazilian Neymar as its great emblem. However, the former Borussia Dortmund and Red Bull Salzburg player ended up leaning towards Nike.

One of the most sought-after athletes by brands these days will then be one of the visible faces of the pipe company, which already has elite representatives such as footballers Kylian Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin De Bruyne, footballers Alexia Putellas and Ada Hegerberg, basketball player LeBron James, tennis player Rafael Nadal and golfer Tiger Woods.

A strong indication that the Norwegian’s choice would end up being the one made official this Friday had arrived in early January through the player’s Instagram account, in which he had published a photo in which he was seen dressed in a jacket and some sneakers from the line that Nike launched together with Tiffany & Co.

If the major clothing companies claim to have it, it is because Haaland, who will turn 23 on July 21, looks set to become a star for the next few decades. In his first season at Manchester City (a club he joined in July 2022 in exchange for €60m), he scored 42 goals in 37 games.