Erling Haaland buys rare 1594 Norse sagas for €120K—then gives it away
Norwegian football superstar Erling Haaland made headlines for buying a book. But this was no ordinary purchase—it was a 1594 volume of Norse royal sagas. As recently revealed, Haaland acquired the rare tome at auction in December for 1.3 million kroner (around €120,000).
That's a hefty sum for a book, yet still far less than what players in his salary bracket typically spend on cars or luxury watches. The real surprise here isn't the price tag, but the act itself: a footballer buying a book.
Footballers aren't exactly known for their love of reading. In training camps, a strong Wi-Fi signal often takes priority over a well-stocked library. Haaland, for his part, didn't buy the book for himself—he plans to lend it permanently to his hometown, making it accessible to the public.
"I was never much of a reader," he admits. No shame in that. First, many non-striker stars feel the same way. And second, for footballers, being able to read the game is all that really matters.
