Erling Haaland continues to take the Premier League by storm as his latest hat-trick sees him dwarfing the numbers previously put up by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
In the Manchester derby, the Red Devils were Haaland’s victims. The Norwegian took his total goals for the season to 17 in the derby with a hat-trick included.
In that sense, records seem to be broken on a weekly bases as the 22-year-old sets sights on rewriting history.
The single-season record currently held by Mo Salah looks set to be broken at Haaland’s current pace. Haaland now has 172 club goals in his career-103 of these coming in the last 100 games with 21 coming for his country.
The age at which Haaland is putting up huge numbers means he is ahead of the curve experienced by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The two achieved these records later in their careers but for Haaland, it’s all different.
Meanwhile, the lad has attracted comparisons with the GOATs.
Lionel Messi
Messi claimed more Ballon d’Ors than anyone in history. the Argentine hit his straps slightly later than Haaland. At 22, Messi had scored 91 times in 193 appearances where his efforts helped capture the La Liga and the Champions League titles. However, this sets him off with Haaland whose medal count is yet to take off.
Messi’s career would go into overdrive shortly after his 22nd birthday as he would go on to bag 628 goals from his next 666 matches. His decision to spend the majority of his career with Barcelona has meant near enough every club record – and the majority of LaLiga’s – now belong to him.
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Similar to Messi, Ronaldo didn’t morph into the player we’ve become accustomed to until his early 20s. Haaland doing so in his late teens gives him a head start that could prove crucial with the numbers when his career comes to an end.
By the time he was 22 Ronaldo had come second in the Ballon d’Or, losing out to Kaka in 2007, but would win it a year later. The Portuguese star appeared a new player after the 2006 World Cup and produced a stellar year to help United win the title in 2007.
On an individual basis, the No 7 has scored 47 club goals by his 22nd birthday. Like Messi, Ronaldo was a winger whose goalscoring exploits really took off when he was moved to a more central role. Real Madrid had the Portuguese star at his peak with his total of five European crowns setting him apart from Messi.
In that regard, Haaland is seen as one of the heirs to the throne that has been shared by Ronaldo and Messi for so long.