Manchester City striker says it is impossible to “get close” to legendary duo
Erling Haaland has dismissed suggestions that he belongs in the same category as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, insisting he is still “far off” despite his prolific start to the season.
The Manchester City striker was responding to Pep Guardiola’s post-match comments after scoring twice in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth. Guardiola said Haaland was now on the same level as the two greats, with the difference being only the incredible length of time the duo had sustained their impressive feats.
“Has he reached that level? You see the numbers of that guy? Oh my God,” Guardiola said. “Yeah, of course he’s at the levels of the numbers from Cristiano and Messi.
“The difference of Cristiano and Messi, they have been doing it for 15 years. But he’s at that level.”
In response to that, Haaland said: “No, not at all, far off. No one can get close to them, so no.”
The 25-year-old has scored 26 goals in just 16 matches for club and country this season. He recently achieved a 12-game scoring streak, surpassing the career best of Cristiano Ronaldo himself (11). But Haaland made clear he was not focusing on records.
“I can’t think about records I can break,” said Haaland. “I try to help the team win football games. I know it’s boring, I know you want me to say the complete opposite, but it’s not how it is.”
