Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is holidaying on a luxury yacht in the French Riviera with Pretty Little Thing founder Umar Kamani after an exhausting 67-game season. The 26-year-old Norwegian star recently claimed on Snapchat that his brain is "fried" following his club and country appearances.
The trip comes after Norway reached the quarter-finals of their first World Cup in 28 years, beating Brazil along the way. Haaland scored twice in the last-16 victory against Brazil before Norway was knocked out by England. Kamani sat with Haaland's family during the match against Brazil and joined the striker immediately after Norway's exit.
The pair are staying at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, a coastal resort where suites cost up to £7,058 per night. Haaland nets close to £1 million per week at Manchester City, while Kamani has an estimated net worth of around $1 billion (£797 million). Joining them on the Riviera trip are Haaland's partner Isabel Haugsend Johansen, Kamani's wife Nada, and a group of friends.
Origins of the friendship in Manchester
Haaland used to regularly stroll into the all-pink Manchester headquarters of Pretty Little Thing (PLT) to visit Kamani, leaving staff astonished at the 6-foot-4-inch striker's presence. Asked about his visits to the fashion brand's office, Haaland simply offered his trademark response: "why not?"
Their friendship began in 2022 when Haaland signed for Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in a £51 million deal. Haaland was born in Leeds, and his father Alf-Inge played for City. Kamani, a lifelong City supporter close to several players, was introduced to Haaland, and the two quickly bonded over football, luxury watches, and adventure.
Five months after meeting, during the Qatar World Cup that Norway failed to qualify for, Haaland visited Kamani's mansion in Dubai in the winter of 2022. He was accompanied by sports therapist Mario Pafundi, who remains one of Haaland's closest allies. The Daily Mail revealed that one of Kamani's close friends also brokered the viral meeting between Haaland and basketball legend Michael Jordan.
Luxury trips and exclusive gatherings
The friendship has led to several high-profile getaways, including past holidays to Monaco and St Tropez, as well as partying in Dubai. In the summer of 2023, Haaland and his father joined Kamani on a luxury superyacht alongside fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. During that same trip, Haaland met Prince Albert II of Monaco for lunch.
To welcome 2024, Haaland and his girlfriend attended an exclusive Dubai party hosted by Kamani, where boxers Anthony Joshua and Derek Chisora were among the guests. Kamani attended the event wearing a pink suit and a gigantic mascot head of himself. Haaland has also trained at the Kamani Club, a private gym in Dubai, sharing side-by-side ice baths with Kamani and training alongside boxing and tennis athletes.
However, Haaland was not present at Kamani's £20 million, four-day wedding to Nada in 2024 in the south of France. That event followed an August 2021 proposal featuring a £1.45 million ring.
Shared drive and business backgrounds
Both men are known for an intense work ethic. Haaland maintains a strict regime involving long hours in the gym, gigantic barbecued steaks, raw milk, raw honey, and ice baths five times a week.
Kamani, 38, grew up in a household of 18 family members in Chorlton, southwest of Manchester city centre. His grandfather Abdullah escaped war-torn Kenya in the 1960s and sold handbags from a market stall in the north west. Kamani's father Mahmud co-founded online retailer Boohoo in 2006 with Carol Kane, and Umar founded PLT with his brother Adam in 2012.
"It’s impossible for me not to be working in fashion. I was born into fashion. That’s like saying if you couldn’t breathe what would you do?" Kamani once told Drapers. PLT revolutionized fast fashion by offering low-cost celebrity-inspired clothing, monitoring social media feeds to roll out designs within days for as little as six pence.
Controversies surrounding the fashion empire
PLT faced criticism for promoting throwaway culture and harming the high street with discounts of up to 99 percent. In 2020, parent company Boohoo faced a scandal over a Leicester factory where workers were allegedly paid as little as £3.50 an hour in poor conditions during the pandemic, triggering a National Crime Agency investigation and a stock price crash.
Kamani stepped down as PLT chief executive in 2023 before returning to the position in September 2024. Earlier this year, Boohoo was hit with £10 million in legal claims from investors alleging that Mahmud Kamani knew about the factory conditions that caused a 42 percent collapse in share value. Mahmud said in 2020 that he "cannot possibly know everything in this business".
