'What the f*** are we doing' - inside story of Man City's stunning Erling Haaland contract announcement

"What the f*** are we doing?" asked Erling Haaland as he stood in a snowy field brushing his hair and wearing just shorts underneath a coat.

The answer? Showing the rest of the world how the best striker in the game wants to portray himself.

It says a lot about the 24-year-old that when he decided to sign the biggest contract in Premier League history he knew exactly how he wanted to announce it. And that he released the subsequent video as a teaser before Manchester City confirmed the stunning news of his new nine-and-a-half year deal.

Footballers are not often seen as intelligent in this country, a consequence of them spending lots of their youth scrapping it out in academies for their dream profession instead of going to public schools that the people who do the judging in this country did. When you see Haaland's early media interviews or watch him bouncing into defenders or roaring in the face of players, you could be tempted to paint the Viking as a neanderthal.

That could not be further than the case. Haaland is acutely aware of the brand that he has built up to the point where every company in the world wants a piece of him.

The reason why he is the only footballer to grace the glitzy Champs D'Elysee in Paris, as the face of luxury watch brand Breitling is the same reason that led him to a snowy field in just his pants: he knows how to sell himself and is brilliantly good at it. Not as good as his football, but impressive nonetheless.

"He's very clear on who he is. He's a funny guy and some of the stuff he does is quite tongue in cheek but he is also an absolute pro," explained Gavin Johnson, head of City Studios. "We might do a humorous thing with him but he will do it really professionally. He's very much part