Erling Haaland makes seven-figure investment as Man City ace plots next move

Erling Haaland makes seven-figure investment as Man City ace plots next move

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has already seen his Premier League season take off for 2024/25 after a stunning hat-trick against West Ham United at the weekend.

But the 24-year-old Norwegian has also been taking flight with his business dealings, with his own personal company that deals with his image rights and commercial agreements, York Promotions Limited, having spent more than £2.1m on ‘acquiring an interest’ in two private aircraft, according to the firm’s annual accounts, filed with Companies House last week.

A report attached to the firm’s annual accounts revealed last week: “The company has entered into an agreement to acquire an interest in two aircraft for an amount of £2,155,342.”

Haaland’s remarkable form for Manchester City since his arrival in the summer of 2022 has seen his own personal brand, and wealth, surge.

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The accounts for York Promotions Limited, up to the end of December 2023, showed assets of £12m for the past 12 months, with £7m cash in the bank and more than £5m still outstanding in terms of payments due from brands who have engaged the services of the striker for promotional purposes.

As football has become ever more globalised, and its stars have become brands in their own right, more and more have been setting up companies to manage their image rights.

Many major stars have limited companies for their image rights, with the likes of Bukayo Saka having ‘BS7’, Jude Bellingham owning ‘Bello&Bello’, and Haaland’s Manchester City teammate Phil Foden having ‘Rondog Sports’.

As players have become brands, in some cases being even stronger and compelling to younger generations that the social pull of the clubs themselves, players and agents have realised the brand value that exists, and how it can be monetised.

When a club signs a player they are not only acquiring a talent to aid their competitive goals, but an asset that the club can use to help generate greater revenues through their marketability. For existing or would-be commercial partners, the ability to have their brands associated with top players is compelling and leads to a willingness to pay higher sums to the clubs themselves.

But it is the player’s image, one related to such things as name, trademark characteristics, squad number, social following, and other areas, and players are now switched on to knowing that they must look after their own interests.

When a club signs a player, one of the key agreements to be reached is regarding image rights, and what the club can expect from their player when calling upon them to appear in marketing campaigns for commercial partners. The two parties will attempt to reach as much common ground as possible so that there is little confusion about what is expected of them during a campaign from a commercial perspective. It removes any potential for legal issues.

If a commercial partner wants to use a player for a campaign then the club would have to call upon the player within the confines of the image rights agreement in place and the licence that has been obtained. In creating an image rights company, the player will sell their rights to the company itself and will then receive a fee paid directly to the firm from the club for use of their image rights.

It is also beneficial from a tax perspective, with that money received taxed at a 19% company rate as opposed to it being subject to the 45% tax rate that would be applied to players through the salary received from the club. For some players, such methods work as something of a savings account throughout their careers ahead of taking out funds at a later date for them to invest in other areas in later life.

The strength of Haaland’s firm shouldn’t come as a surprise, with the former Borussia Dortmund forward, whose father, and ex-Premier League player, Alf-Inge Haaland is a director of his son’s company, working with some major brands such as the energy drinks company Prime, and the premium watchmaker TAG Heuer, among others.

Also on the board of directors is Julia Hoyle, a tax specialist from Brebners, one of the UK’s leading tax advisory firms, with Hoyle’s profile stating that she: “Advises non-UK domiciled individuals living in the UK and non-resident individuals and companies investing in the UK with property investment portfolios.

“A large proportion of Julia’s clients are high net worth individuals from the sport and entertainment world living and performing in the UK, many with valuable image rights.”

According to the Mirror, Haaland is already looking to pave the way for his own move into the energy drinks market after trademark documents filed in Oslo revealed that he was eyeing up the soft beverages market.

Papers filed at the UK’s Intellectual Property Office by Haaland’s lawyers stated he wants to sell: “Drinking water; sports drinks; energy drinks; fruit drinks; fruit juice beverages; protein drinks; carbohydrate drinks; protein-enriched sports beverages; energy drinks containing caffeine; energy drinks (not for medical purposes).”

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