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A new report by the respected CIES Football Observatory has put Manchester City striker Erling Haaland as the second most valuable player in the world.
There is something quite amusing about the world's most cash-strapped football club fluttering their eyelashes in the direction of Erling Haaland.
Barcelona have to pull various levels every summer to try and register the players they do have, but apparently, president Joan Laporta has made Haaland his "dream" signing. Presumably, that dream also involves a record-breaking win on the EuroMillions lottery, because there is no other way a basket case of a club could afford him.
City are hardly sweating over talk in Catalunya that Barcelona would quite like Haaland. In truth, it's not exactly a transfer story that has caught fire. Everyone involved seems to accept it isn't going to happen.
The Blues are protected by the huge contract Haaland signed earlier this year, tying him to the Etihad until 2034, and you only have to watch him on the pitch this season to realise how invested he is in performing for City.
When he signed for the club, plenty of people expected it to be a short-term union, with the idea that Haaland had his career mapped out to play in all the major leagues. But like Pep Guardiola, he has found that the reality is that the environment at this club is hard to turn your back on.
Haaland's worth to City is certainly clear. He has scored the club's last five goals and has 12 in nine games this season. He is an emerging leader on the pitch and looks to have taken his game to new heights this season.
That combination of goalscoring feats and contract length has sent his value skyrocketing. A new report by the respected CIES Football Observatory has placed Haaland as the second most valuable player in world football.
According to the Swiss-based research group, Haaland's market value is now between £198million and £230million. Even that feels on the cheap side.
The only player valued more highly by the think tank is Lamine Yamal, who is seven years Haaland's junior and is already one of the best players in the world. Haaland beats Kylian Mbappe into third on the list.
City aren't exactly in a position where they need to sell, and even a £200million offer might not be enough, not that any club could afford that. Real Madrid don't need another striker, Barcelona could barely afford £20million, Bayern Munich has Harry Kane, the only No. 9 matching Haaland's output this season, and a move to another Premier League club is off the cards.
But the eye-watering value that CIES have placed on Haaland shows just how important he is to City. It might be a number that is irrelevant in a real world that doesn't have the 25-year-old leaving the club anytime soon, but it does reinforce his value to the club that pays his wages. They are getting bang for their buck.
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