Erling Haaland‘s agent has claimed the Manchester City striker could become the world’s first £1 billion player.
Haaland has made a fine start to his City career since signing from Borussia Dortmund for his release clause, which sources told ESPN was worth €60 million.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.)
The 22-year-old has scored 20 goals in 14 appearances across all competitions for City this campaign, which has led his representative Rafaela Pimenta to say he could break the £1 billion barrier for a signing.
“If you put together his football value, his image value, his sponsor value, it is for sure £1 billion,” Pimenta said when talking about the transfer fee Haaland could be signed for in an interview with Sky Sports.
“It’s normal to compare Erling with [Kylian] Mbappe, so you have a little bit of an idea of the market — I think Erling would be the first player to achieve a transfer that would be around £1 billion.”
– Notebook: Pochettino to snub Spain, Italy for Prem return
Earlier this month City manager Pep Guardiola rejected reports that Haaland had a clause in his contract which would allow him to join Real Madrid for a lower fee after the 2023-24 season.
“The good and bad of being a lawyer is that you know what you cannot say,” Pimenta said in response to a question about those reports. “You don’t need somebody poking you like, ‘Don’t say this, don’t say that.’ I cannot talk about it.”
Pimenta was also asked whether discussions would take place soon over a new contract for the Norway international at the Etihad Stadium.
“I hope so,” Pimenta said. “If they want to discuss today, we’d be happy. Why not? Always good.”