Fans are stunned by the amount Erling Haaland received for being named Player of the Match versus Yokahoma.
Manchester City began their pre-season tour of Japan with a thrilling 5-3 victory over Yokohama on Sunday.
Goals were scored by John Stones, Julian Alvarez, and Rodri. While Haaland scored a brace, he continued his incredible success in front of goal from previous season, in which he scored a staggering 52 goals in all competitions.
In turn, the 6ft 4 Norwegian behemoth was named Player of the Match, but it was his award that got fans talking, with followers perplexed at the amount of money he was granted.
Despite the triple-digit sum printed on his massive check, 1,000,000 Japanese Yen is equivalent to £5484.
To the average person, that’s a lot of money for 90 minutes of football. To Haaland, though, it is but a drop in the bucket.
According to the Daily Mail, the 22-year-old earns up to £900,000 a week at the Etihad, with that sum expected to rise to £1 million next season.
Fans on social media reacted quickly to the reward money, with one posting, “That’s just pocket change for him.”
“With his massive weekly salary of £400,000, that £5,000 reward is just a drop in the bucket for him!” said another.
“Probably more tips for his Nandos delivery,” a third remarked.
“He earns that in two hours,” a fourth stated, before a fifth added, “He definitely doesn’t need that £5k!”
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola stated Haaland was in greater shape than last season, issuing a strong warning to English Premier League defenders.
“Comparing to last season, in that period, he is fitter,” Guardiola said after the game. “I know we’d like it to be like last season.
“He appears to be in good shape, but he, like everyone else, is far from it. What matters is that you understand the rhythm and the fundamentals. We know precisely what he has to do, we know him, and in a few weeks, we’ll be in better shape than we are now.”
The City manager then joked, “It was most important for him to score two goals in the first game because he couldn’t score last season.”
