The Financial Times are claiming that Haaland's transfer would cost around £500m over five years, for fee, wages and agent's fees in total.
That would be a risky transfer for any club in terms of return-on-investment. Haaland would need to perform at Messi/Ronaldo levels for five years and his wages mean that selling him to another club at a profit is unlikely too.
For comparison, let's look at Lukaku, who will cost around ~£200m over the next five years in transfer fee, wages and agent costs. Haaland costs
2.5x as much and so for an adequate return on investment, he would need to be 2.5x better than Lukaku.
- For every 20 goals + assists that Lukaku scores, Haaland would need to score/provide 50
- For every 2 trophies Lukaku wins for Chelsea, Haaland must win 5
- For every £10m in shirt-sale revenue Lukaku brings in, Haaland needs to bring in £25m
etc.
In my mind there is no doubt Haaland will be one of, if not the best goalscorer over the next few years no matter what league he plays in. That is a given. However the total difference he makes to a team may not as be as significant.
With the above numbers, Haaland would not just need to be an instant success, but at the level of Ronaldo/Messi's best seasons for
five years merely to make the transfer economically viable.
