Erling Haaland has given his hometown library the most expensive book ever sold in Norway, a 1594 edition of the Viking royal sagas that he and his father bought at auction for 1.3m kroner, about £103,000.
The book was unveiled at the Time library in Bryne on Monday morning, in front of around 170 local schoolchildren. Haaland couldn’t be there in person, so his father, Alf Inge Haaland, did the honours, and the Man City striker joined in by video.
It will now stay in Bryne for good, on public display in a case at the library.
What is the Erling Haaland book?
It’s a rare copy of Snorre Sturlasons Kongesagaer, Snorri Sturluson’s sagas of the Norse kings, written down by the Icelander in the 13th century. This edition, printed in Copenhagen in 1594, was the first printed version in Danish-Norwegian, at a time when Norway was under Danish rule and had no printing presses of its own.
The Haalands bought it before Christmas last year from the shipowner and collector Johan Odfjell, and told the library in December that it was coming to Bryne. It is described as the only surviving privately owned copy.
Norway’s national librarian, Åse Wetås, said the National Library has three other copies, none of them complete. “This is a complete and very beautiful copy of this book from 1594,” she said. “So it is a gem really. A very special gem.”
“Sometimes my son and I are a little impulsive”
That was Alf Inge Haaland’s explanation for the purchase. He told the children it was “a cool book with a lot of history”, and then got all 170 of them doing Norway’s Viking row, with a drum.
His son, meanwhile, interviewed himself for a video that was played to the room. Haaland said he had always been interested in Viking history, and when he asked himself why so many people around the world link him with Vikings, his answer was a mix of being Norwegian, the long blond hair he used to have and the way he plays. “I’m tall and brutal,” he said, with a smile.
He also admitted he has never been a big reader himself, but said he reads to his one-year-old son every evening.
A reading competition for Bryne’s children
The book comes with a challenge. Haaland has invited the children of Time to read as much as they can through November and January, and the winners will be drawn to go and watch Norway play at Ullevaal in Oslo. Some of the children were already coming straight from school every day last week to get through their books.
Why Bryne matters to Haaland
Haaland was born in Leeds while his father was playing for Leeds United, but Bryne is where he grew up and learned the game. The town of around 13,500 people already has two murals of him, and after he led Norway to the World Cup quarter-finals this summer, fans travelled from across Norway and abroad to see where he started.
The mayor, Andreas Vollsund, was once his schoolteacher. He called the gift and the reading competition “next level”, adding: “We now see how good a person Erling is, to do this for his home town. He doesn’t need to do this, he wants to do this.”
Haaland’s Viking gift is a nice change of subject
It has been a rough few weeks at City, with three straight league defeats and plenty of questions about Enzo Maresca’s side. This is a reminder that Haaland’s week hasn’t all been about football. On Monday he was also named in the 2026 FIFPRO World 11, just ahead of Harry Kane, and picked as the men’s Golden Player at the Golden Boy awards.
He has now joined up with Norway, who host Wales at Ullevaal on Saturday and then visit Denmark on Tuesday, as set out in our guide to where City’s internationals play this break. A few goals there, and a few more children reading in Bryne, would make it a good fortnight.
