by Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has already booked his Premier League season for 2024/25 after a stunning hat-trick against West Ham United at the weekend.
But the 24-year-old Norwegian is also flying with his business, his own personal company that deals with his image rights and commercial deals, York Promotions Limited, having spent more than £2.1m on ‘getting an interest’. in two private aircraft, according to the firm’s annual accounts, which were filed with Companies House last week.
A report accompanying the firm’s annual accounts revealed last week: “The company entered into an agreement to acquire an interest in two aircraft for £2,155,342.”
Haaland’s impressive form for Manchester City since his arrival in the summer of 2022 has boosted his own personal brand, and his wealth.
READ MORE: Grealish’s real reaction to City substitution as Guardiola settles in directly
ALSO READ: I spotted Pep Guardiola’s hidden message to Erling Haaland amid Man City’s challenge
York Promotions Limited’s accounts, up to the end of December 2023, showed assets of £12m over the past 12 months, with £7m in cash in the bank and more than £5m still outstanding in terms of payments due from brands that employed. the striker’s services for promotional purposes.
As football becomes increasingly globalised, and stars become brands in their own right, more and more companies are setting up companies to manage their image rights.
Many big stars have limited companies for their image rights, with the likes of Bukayo Saka owning ‘BS7’, Jude Bellingham owning ‘Bello&Bello’, and Haaland’s Manchester City teammate Phil Foden owning ‘Rondog Sports’.
As the players became brands, in some cases stronger and stronger for the younger generations that the social appeal of the clubs themselves, players and agents after the brand value that exists, and how money can be make him understand.
When a club signs a player they are not only getting a talent to help their competitive goals, but an asset the club can use to generate more revenue through their marketability. For existing or potential commercial partners, having their brands associated with top players is extremely rewarding and leads to a willingness to pay higher sums to the clubs themselves.
But it’s the player’s image, one that involves things like name, trademark attributes, squad number, social following, and other areas, and players are now aware that they have to look after their own interests.
When a club signs a player, one of the main agreements to be reached is image rights, and what the club can expect from their player when they want them to be in marketing campaigns for commercial partners. Both parties will try to find as much common ground as possible so that there is little confusion about what is expected of them during a commercial campaign. It eliminates any potential for legal issues.
If a commercial party wants to use a player for a campaign, the club would have to call the player within the limits of the image rights agreement in place and the license obtained. When creating an image rights company, the player will sell their rights to the company themselves and receive a fee paid directly to the firm by the club for using their image rights.
It is also beneficial from a tax point of view, with that money received taxed at a company rate of 19% rather than being subject to the 45% tax rate that would be imposed on players through the salary received from the club. For some players, such methods work as a savings account for the duration of their careers before they later withdraw funds to invest in other areas later in life.
The strength of Haaland’s firm should come as no surprise, with the former Borussia Dortmund forward, whose father, and former Premier League player, Alf-Inge Haaland is the director of his son’s company, working with a number of major brands on such as the energy drink company Prime, and the premium watch maker TAG Heuer, among others.
Also on the board of directors is Julia Hoyle, a tax specialist from Brebners, one of the UK’s largest tax advisory firms, and Hoyle’s profile states: “She advises non-UK resident and UK resident individuals and for non-resident individuals and companies. investing in the UK with property investment portfolios.
“Many of Julia’s clients are high net worth individuals from the world of sport and entertainment living and working in the UK, many of whom hold 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 he was eyeing the soft drinks market.
Papers filed by Haaland’s lawyers at the UK Intellectual Property Office said he is trying to sell: “Drinking water; sports drinks; energy drinks; fruit drinks; fruit juice drinks; protein drinks; carbohydrate drinks; protein-enriched sports drinks; energy drinks containing caffeine; energy drinks (not for medicinal purposes).
