Erling Haaland was in sizzling form as Manchester City hammered Ipswich Town 4-1 on Saturday. The Norwegian striker scored a hat-trick, taking his season tally to four goals in two matches. Meanwhile, he took his Premier League tally to 67 goals in 68 appearances.
With many City fans labelling Haaland as the best centre forward of all time, manager Pep Guardiola is of a different opinion. Speaking to beIN SPORTS, he said, "The most incredible forward I have ever seen is Messi — I've never said something like that."
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"The numbers with Erling are unbelievable. I think he can sit at the table, in terms of scoring goals, with Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Messi, that's for sure," he added.
During the Guardiola era at FC Barcelona, Messi registered 211 goals in 219 fixtures, and also bagged 94 assists. He is also Barcelona's all-time leading goalscorer and top goalscorer in La Liga history with 474 goals.
Haaland is yet to reach the level of Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but could maybe reach that stage at some point in his glittering career.
{{/usCountry}}Haaland is yet to reach the level of Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but could maybe reach that stage at some point in his glittering career.
{{/usCountry}}But what Guardiola said was in stark contrast to what he stated after City's opening win vs Chelsea. The Spaniard said, "He has the numbers for Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who controlled the last decade, 15 years, absolutely everything. 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, is unbelievable."
"I had a feeling that he feels better than last season at this stage. After travel last season, he felt a bit 'mmm-mmm' [so-so] or felt he was tired. This season, I think for the Euros unfortunately Norway was not there, there was more rest and yeah, he feels good.
"The goal was magnificent. His contribution is in many things. He had two or three chances and always I had the feeling there is a gap to improve as a football player," he added.