The Norwegian is ahead of schedule in his mission to out-score the two greats of the modern game after a refreshing summer away from the game
Earlier this year, Erling Haaland was asked whether he would have to wait for Lionel Messi to retire for him to start winning the Ballon d'Or and The FIFA Best awards. The Norwegian was unsure, but was happy to hail Messi as the greatest player of all time.
Messi has won eight Ballons d'Or and even when he does retire, he might be impossible to overhaul. Messi looks set to be the standard bearer long after he hangs up his boots, as does five-time Golden Ball winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
But just a few days ago, Pep Guardiola was happy to put Haaland on the same pedestal as the two players who are largely regarded as the best players of the 21st century, albeit with an important caveat.
Haaland had just scored the first goal of City's Premier League campaign, just as he did in the previous two seasons, with Chelsea the victims this time. It was the Norwegian's 91st goal in 100 games at City, and Guardiola gave that moment to shower him with the highest praise of all.
GettyOn their level
"He has the numbers for Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who controlled the last decade, 15 years, absolutely everything," Guardiola said of his No.9. "In terms of numbers, it is that level. So, I don't know how he does it, but in 100 games scoring 91 goals is something in the Premier League. In this country, it is unbelievable."
Coaches have long been wary about comparing players to Messi or Ronaldo, but Guardiola is perfectly qualified to do so. He oversaw Messi's rise at Barcelona and came up against Ronaldo on numerous occasions in La Liga, the Champions League and the Premier League.
This not a moment of hubris either from the Catalan. He was spot-on in comparing Haaland to Messi and Ronaldo.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTime on his hands
Haaland might never catch Messi and Ronaldo in terms of Ballon d'Or awards, especially if Kylian Mbappe has anything to do with it. But in terms of goals scored, he is on their level. In fact, he is actually ahead of them for his age.
Messi is the all-time scorer in Europe's top five leagues on 496 goals, with Ronaldo just behind him on 495. Haaland is on 122, but he has time on his hands. The Norwegian turned 24 in July. Ronaldo left Manchester United to move to Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia when he was 37, while Messi departed Paris Saint-Germain for Inter Miami when he had just turned 36.
Haaland, then, has one-quarter of the goals of Messi and Ronaldo amassed and 12 years to make up the ground.
Getty ImagesAhead of schedule
He is on track to catch the pair, and is even slightly ahead of schedule. Taking out the goal he scored against Chelsea, Haaland had scored 152 league goals by his 24th birthday. But if we are to discount Messi and Ronaldo's goals in the Saudi Pro League and MLS, we must also discount Haaland's 14 goals in the Norwegian top flight for Molde and his 17 in the Austrian Bundesliga with Red Bull Salzburg.
That still leaves him with 121 goals by his 24th birthday. Messi, by comparison, had 119 goals in La Liga at the same stage. Ronaldo, who had only played for Sporting CP and Manchester United at this point, was on 77 Premier League goals.
Haaland's goal record for his age is also way better than the other great strikers of the 21st century. Robert Lewandowski was on just 30 Bundesliga goals when he was 24, while Harry Kane was on 78 in the Premier League. If the career paths of Haaland's contemporaries are anything to go by, the Norwegian is just approaching his peak – and that is a frightening prospect indeed.
Getty/GOALOnly Mbappe to rival him
The only player with more goals in Europe's top-five leagues by the age of 24 is Kylian Mbappe, who had 135 goals in his first seven seasons in Ligue 1, first with Monaco and then with PSG. It should be noted, though, that France is mostly regarded as being the weakest of the 'Big Five'.
The season before Mbappe moved to PSG, Edinson Cavani had scored 35 goals. while previous to that, Zlatan Ibrahimovic had hit 38. Comparatively, before Haaland scored a record-breaking 36 goals in the Premier League in 2022-23, the previous highest count in a 38-game season was 32, scored by Mohamed Salah in 2017-18.
Haaland took Premier League scoring to unprecedented heights, breaking a 28-year-long record when he beat Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole's tally of 34 goals in a single campaign, back when there were 42 games per season.
