Never before has Norway had an athlete with the star factor of Erling Braut Haaland (21).
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If we compare the star status of Jærbuen with other Norwegian forward-thinking summer athletes, there is little doubt. The upcoming Manchester City player is more than ten times as big as names like Casper Ruud, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Karsten Warholm and Viktor Hovland. At least on social media.
Together, the four above have 1.2 million followers on Instagram. The largest is Ingebrigtsen with her 408,000.
At the time of writing, Haaland has well over 16 million in the same place.
Not only is this a picture of how enormous football is worldwide, but also the enormous market forces that are now associated with Haaland’s person. On Instagram, he has clear collaborations with Samsung, the company Hyperice and the watch brand Micromilspec. In addition, he is one of Nike’s top profiles.
This probably secures him large sums, in addition to the salary he receives from the club and national team.
– He is a bit mysterious, and has few sponsored posts on the Instagram account. He does this exclusively, says social media expert Ingvild Moen to VG.
– How much can Haaland earn on a sponsored post?
– They never go out with numbers and often there are agreements that make up more than one item. Haaland is careful about who he collaborates with, and good at negotiating. He benefits from this in the long run, because he is perceived as credible and the market value increases. He already has a high market value and can make good money from the collaborations. So I hope he gets paid well.
When asked how the 21-year-old has become so big on social media, Moen highlights the insight and stories he gives his followers.
– He does not let See and Hear tell the story, but does it through his own channels, says Moen, who works as a digital consultant.
Reputation expert Dag Inge Fjeld can not stress enough how big the Haaland brand is now worldwide and what significance this has in the Norwegian market.
– Haaland means a lot to many players. Then I think first and foremost of the national team. If we think commercially, it is enormous with Norwegian players who profit well from this interest, and will be a part of it. We have never seen what we are witnessing until now. But at the same time, Haaland is not the most talkative. It can also be positive, I think. There is something about these stars that is a bit mysterious, which attracts more interest, says Fjeld to VG.
– He’s the next Ronaldo, commercially. He is one of the most valuable ambassadors one can have. Young children who admire Haaland will follow his preferences. Then it is smart of, for example, Samsung to link Haaland to itself. When you now travel around the world as a Norwegian, the first thing you hear is “Haaland”. That says it all, he emphasizes.
–These market forces are also something the NFF and the national team consciously use. Earlier this year, it became known that the star striker changed suit number on the national team, entirely due to commercial considerations.
– The reason for that is that there is a great desire and a great commercial bit in it. This in combination means that there have been some castles. Sørloth has voluntarily got a number one in front of his nine, and then Erling has got number nine, national team manager Ståle Solbakken told TV 2, when it became known that Haaland would change from suit number 23 to number 9.
– NFF is very aware that it is Haaland that is now the major reference point. It is wise of them to use Haaland for all that is worthwhile. At the same time, the situation right now with City is a bit difficult, as he has not been presented, says Fjeld.
– How do you think he has “branded” himself?
– I think he has been the same all the way. He is very interested in football and is very happy as long as he can keep up. At the same time, this means that he has spent less time on other things, such as social studies. There is a point that a 21-year-old like him is not very well read on the latest Amnesty reports. Therefore, it is probably a bit unrealistic to demand that he go in the breeze for something, says Fjeld when he talks about Haaland’s club choice, which has garnered criticism from some players due to Manchester City’s controversial owners.
Fjeld also believes that one must remember that football is the world’s biggest sport, when one sees the number of followers Haaland has against the other major Norwegian sports profiles.
– Football is by far the most important world sport. Live football is one of the few products where players are still willing to pay large sums for advertising time on TV. One can also only imagine what this means for NENT, which has bought the Premier League rights in the Nordics in the next few years, says Fjeld.
Solbakken, on the other hand, will not be involved in ranking the stars.
– I do not have a ranking on them, but it is good that Norway has big stars in world sports. Whether it is Ingebrigtsen, Warholm or Hovland. It is fantastic, says the national team manager to VG.
Former national team manager Åge Hareide, on the other hand, does not spare the superlatives when he describes the importance Haaland has received for the Norwegian national team. In 20 games, “Brauten” stands with an insane 18 goals. Up to Jørgen Juve at the top there are only 15 goals.
– For us in Norway, this is almost a godsend. If he stays healthy so that he can play, he is in many ways almost a guarantor that we will get to the European Championships, he says to VG.
Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane spent 35 games reaching 20 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo spent 51 games. Lionel Messi spent even more time, reaching 20 goals after 68 games. The Swedes’ superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic reached 20 in 52 games.
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