Erling Haaland is just 20-year-old and he is already attaining a football legend status both in the German Bundesliga and in the prestigious UEFA Champions League.
On Tuesday night, November 24, the Norwegian footballer scored two goals in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-0 win over Club Brugge to become the first player in the history of the UEFA Champions League to score 15 goals in just 12 matches. He is also the youngest player in the history of the competition to score as many as 15 goals in the prestigious European club competition.
Erling Haaland’s 15 goals in the Champions League means that he has surpassed the total number of goals football legends like French midfielder Zinedine Zidane (14) and Brazilian forward Ronaldo (14) scored in the competition before they retired.
This also means that at just 20-year-old, Erling Haaland has scored more Champions League goals than renowned footballers like Carlos Tevez, Olivier Giroud (both 13), and Michael Owen, Diego Costa (both 11).
For scoring a total of 15 goals in 12 Champions League matches, he has broken the record previously held by Roberto Soldado and Ruud van Nistelrooy who scored 15 goals in 19 Champions League matches. This means that the Norwegian is the fastest player in the history of the competition to score 15 goals.
More so, Haaland, who recently won the 2020 Golden Boy award has scored a total number of 6 goals in 4 Champions League matches for Borussia Dortmund this season which makes him the current highest goalscorer of the competition. He has also scored 10 goals in 7 Bundesliga matches, he is just one goal behind the current top scorer of the league, Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich.
Since Erling Haaland joined Borussia Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020 for just €20 million, he has scored 33 goals in 31 competitions in all competitions and provided 6 assists. Before he left RB Salzburg, he scored 29 goals and provided 7 assists in 27 matches.
However, Haaland still has a long way to go in terms of catching up with the Champions League’s all-time highest goals scorers. 35-year-old Juventus and Portugal football icon Cristiano Ronaldo remains Champions League’s all-time highest goalscorer with 132 goals. He is closely followed by 33-year-old FC Barcelona and Argentina icon, Lionel Messi with 118 goals. If Haaland continues scoring the way he has been scoring, he might overtake both icons before he becomes as old as they currently are.
Love playing in the @ChampionsLeague !
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) November 24, 2020
😁⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Xz3tDYxqWg
Erling Haaland contract details, salary, and length of the contract
As stated earlier, Erling Haaland joined Borussia Dortmund during the 2020 January transfer window for just €20 million.
The 20-year-old Norway international signed a 4-year and 6 months deal with the Bundesliga outfit which will keep him at the club until 2024. This deal reportedly earns him €6 million-per-year for the first two years and then €8 million-per-year for the last two years.
This implies that he reportedly earns about €149,169-per-week at Borussia Dortmund. He will continue to earn this amount until 2022 when he will then be moved to a higher pay package.
Due to the peculiarity of Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund accepted to insert a €60 million release clause on his contract which means that Haaland will be allowed to join any club that can pay €60 million for his services. This release clause can only be activated in 2022.
Erling Haaland’s potential clubs
When Borussia Dortmund was trying to secure the signature of Erling Haaland during the 2020 January transfer window, Premier League giants, Manchester United was fighting very hard to get the 20-year-old striker.
Unfortunately, the Norwegian decided to go with the Bundesliga club because of the plan he said they have for him. And indeed, he has no reason to regret the decision so far.
Presently, it is rumored that Manchester United have not given up on his signature. They are still fighting to secure the signature of the striker as soon as possible. But that might be difficult at this point due to the financial difficulties clubs in Europe are battling with due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Besides Manchester United, Real Madrid are reportedly keeping tabs on the development of the 20-year-old striker. The Spanish giants are looking at bringing him to the club in 2022. While FC Barcelona is reportedly planning to go for him as a replacement for 6 times Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, should in case the Argentine football icon refuse to extend his contract with Barcelona before it expires in June 2021.
