As the world continues to remain divided between the pro and anti-Messi/Argentina factions, far away in Scandinavia, a beautiful story that brings together one of my favourite countries at this year’s FIFA World Cup — Norway — and one of my favourite topics — literature — earned my salaams.

Without much fanfare, Norway’s star footballer, Erling Haaland and his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, had acquired one of Norway’s greatest literary treasures: A 1594 edition of Snorri Sturluson’s Kongesagaer. This is supposed to be the only surviving copy, consisting of centuries’-old documentation about the country’s early history of its Viking kings. It was purchased by the family at an auction, and was recently donated to his hometown library in Time Municipality, Bryne, where Haaland grew up. What’s heartwarming is that instead of keeping it as a vanity memento in their private collection, the Haalands made it accessible to the public. According to many world news agencies that caught the story after the World Cup ended, when Haaland had become a global sensation, the family paid 1.3 million Norwegian Kroner (approximately $134,000) to secure this manuscript. Archival records reveal that it was the first printed history of Norway, and has helped safeguard the stories of Norway’s kings.