Iceland’s breakout performance at Euro 2016 is going to earn one of its best players a ton of money

Yves Herman/Reuters

Iceland’s logic-defying run to the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 has been nothing short of incredible, and the team’s players might be set to profit off of the exposure.

One name that’s appearing in transfer rumors is center-back Ragnar Sigurdsson, hero of Iceland’s Round of 16 upset of England.

According to The Guardian, Sigurdsson is being tracked by reigning Premier League champions Leicester City and Premier League runner-up Tottenham Hotspur, as well as a few other high-profile clubs. Sigurdsoon has toiled away for years playing in Sweden, Denmark, and most recently Russia, but even at 30 years old, the toughness he’s shown during Euro 2016 would prove invaluable to any club. He’d also come at a relative bargain for any buyer, with The Guardian estimating it’d only cost about $5.5 million (€5 million) to purchase him.

That said, he’d likely earn somewhere around $2.3 million per year (the average for a Premier League player). If his move to Tottenham went through, he’d join Toby Alderweireld, among others, on defense. Alderweireld makes about $2.5 million per year, so Sigurdsson would be paid just a little less than some elite defenders like Alderweireld. Not a bad payday!

If Sigurdsson signed with Tottenham he’d be the second Icelandic player to play for the team. Ragnar’s teammate Gylfi Sigurdsson (no relation) played for Spurs for a few years before moving to Swansea City, where he currently plays.

It’s always exciting when people realize that talent can be found in a country that isn’t notable for producing it, and it seems like this is only the beginning of hearing of Icelandic players profiting off of their hard work.