Norway's Erling Haaland is bringing more than his football to the 2026 World Cup.
Standing 1.95 metres tall with long blond hair, the prolific striker already cuts an imposing figure and is just behind Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the race for the tournament's Golden Boot. Off the pitch, however, he is attracting almost as much attention for his extraordinary collection of rare luxury bags, estimated to be worth as much as $860,000 on the resale market.
His Hermes collection alone is thought to be worth about $317,000, while archival pieces from Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Goyard almost triple that figure.
The backbone of the collection is the oversized Hermes Haut a Courroies (HAC), the French maison's oldest bag. Introduced in 1892 to carry saddles and riding boots, its distinctive trapezoidal shape later inspired the Birkin.
Haaland owns at least four HAC 50 bags, including a Black Multipocket HAC 50, estimated at $69,500, and a HAC Rock Black, valued at about $68,000. At the start of the tournament, he arrived carrying an Endless Road HAC 50, distinguished by its blue leather marquetry and worth about $45,500.
He has also been spotted with several smaller HAC 40 models, including an Evercalf Toile Cargo HAC 40, a Toile Canvas HAC 40 and a Black and Orange Togo HAC Casaque 40.
Among the rest of his collection are a Black Box Birkin 25 Sellier, which he often carries inside his larger HAC bags, two rare Louis Vuitton Keepall Bandouliere 50s designed by Virgil Abloh, a Chanel 2024/25 Metiers d'art suitcase and a sky-blue Goyard Jouvence MM toiletry bag matching the colours of Manchester City, his club side.
He has even given his girlfriend one of Hermes' most coveted creations: a Himalaya Birkin, whose pale crocodile skin is estimated to be worth about $435,000.
What makes Haaland's collection interesting is not simply its value, but the reaction it provokes. Diamond watches and jewellery on elite footballers barely register today. A man carrying a handbag, however, still raises eyebrows.
That distinction has always been somewhat artificial. Bags were never exclusively women's accessories. The 5,300-year-old Ötzi the Iceman carried a leather pouch containing his essential tools. The modern tote bag originated with LL Bean's 1944 Bean's Ice Carrier, designed to transport heavy blocks of ice. Even the Birkin itself was conceived as a practical solution after Jane Birkin complained to Hermes chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas that she could not find a bag large enough for everyday life as a working mother.
Luxury bags are, fundamentally, functional objects.
Most of the great maisons represented in Haaland's collection built their reputations not through fashion but through leather craftsmanship. Hermes began as a saddler, while Louis Vuitton and Goyard made luggage long before entering luxury fashion. Of the four major brands in his collection, only Chanel has its roots exclusively in women's fashion.
With a fortune exceeding $100 million through salary and endorsements, Haaland can afford to collect objects that combine craftsmanship with investment value. His front-row appearances at Dolce & Gabbana's Alta Moda shows suggest fashion has long been a genuine interest rather than a recent indulgence.
The irony is that the handmade bags attracting so much attention arguably represent a more transparent form of luxury than many other status symbols embraced by professional athletes. Produced in specialist European workshops by highly trained artisans, they preserve traditional craft and support skilled manufacturing, which helps explain their extraordinary prices.
Perhaps Haaland simply recognises exceptional craftsmanship. Perhaps he enjoys challenging assumptions about traditional masculinity. Or perhaps the explanation is much simpler than that. He is carrying a large, beautifully made bag because he likes it.
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