What do you make of Erling Haaland’s new £500,000-a-week basic salary? Ridiculous? Staggering? Obscene at a time when too many children are arriving at school unfed? That seemed to be the prevailing view after his 10-year contract with Manchester City was announced on Friday. Even Haaland admitted his contract was “a bit crazy”.
But do you know what may be crazier still? Haaland making £26m a year actually makes sense. For football reasons, yes. Because of what economists call the “superstar” effect – which explains why the gap between the sporting super elite and the next best is widening.
