Manchester City-bound Erling Haaland buys luxury Rolex watches worth €15,000 for Dortmund teammates as farewell gift: Reports
Incoming Manchester City striker Erling Haaland reportedly parted ways with his Borussia Dortmund teammates by lavishing them with expensive gifts.
The Norway international is on his way to the Premier League, having agreed a deal with the reigning English champions.
A report by German media outlet Bild reveals that Haaland made a special request for 33 custom-made luxury Rolex wrist watches for each of his teammates at BVB.
The watches were delivered by two limousines from the Netherlands - including a personal try-on service for every team-mate.
They had three pictures customized into a box that came with it: one with his BVB shirt number, one with him in a celebratory pose and another with the DFB-Pokal in his hands. His initials EBH were also created on them.
Each of the watches was estimated to cost between €13,000 and €15,000 meaning the 21-year-old spent a total of between €429,000 and €495,000 on the gifts.
It has been nothing but an honour to wear this shirt. At @BVB, I've spent memorable moments, met special people, not to mention a fanbase that has been always our extra man on the pitch. The Yellow Wall is truly incredible. I'll never forget any of this! Thank you all! 🖤💛 https://t.co/MegplT4y7B
Members of the club's staff were also given parting gifts, an Omega-brand watch from the Speedmaster Professional line. They each cost between €5,000 and €7,000.
Erling Haaland joined Dortmund from Salzburg in 2020 and has had exponential growth since then, prompting Manchester City to trigger his release clause.
The former Molde man departs Signal Iduna Park with a staggering record of 86 goals and 23 assists in 89 matches in all competitions for the club.
Erling Haaland and Manchester City's relationship could be a mutually beneficial one
Haaland was named the 2019 Golden Boy winner and is widely regarded as a potential Ballon d'Or winner-in-waiting.
But for all of his brilliance at Dortmund, the club's perrenial underachivement means they are almost always likely to be in Bayern Munich's shadow.
The North Rhine-Westphalia are a cadre below the elite sides on the continent and are unlikely to be competing for major continental honors anytime soon.
This could have been detrimental to Haaland's chances of sustained individual success, with most of his peers playing at a higher level.
Some pre-Villa prep! 📸🙌
#ManCity https://t.co/7ygndrn0cq
This is where the move to Manchester City proves beneficial, with the Premier League champions currently one of the best sides in the world.
Pep Guardiola's side have a near-monopoly of dominance in English football and have been knocking on the doors of UEFA Champions League glory for the last few years.
Haaland's chances of being among the forerunners for prestigious individual prizes have significantly increased.
Additionally, Manchester City will be adding one of the deadliest strikers in the world to their ranks. It helps solve their problem of a lack of a recognized goalscorer in the squad.