Is it even a debate anymore? No league, no defenders, and no style of play seems to be able to contain Erling Haaland. In only six matches Haaland has already hit 10 league goals, and this week takes his show on the UEFA Champions League Road. Be it in Austria, Bundesliga, or now with Manchester City one thing is consistent, Erling Haaland scores at will it seems.
Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, and Kylian Mbappe all have similar numbers but what makes Haaland’s statistic unique is the places he has hit these record marks. Now in three different leagues Haaland has made a statement and that is undeniable now. Erling Haaland is the best striker in the world and arguably the best player in the world.
As we enter the twilight of the careers of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who at the height of their careers seemed to be all terrain vehicles, scoring from midfield or up front, Haaland is a throwback to the great finishers of the game, and quite frankly on the road to being the best pure striker in history.
Erling Haaland the best striker of the new generation
Erling Haaland has a major advantage over some of his great counterparts, Messi, Ronaldo, Benzema, and Lewandowski are at the end of their careers, while Haaland and Mbappe seemed poised to be the two soccer players destined to fight it out as world’s best in a post Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo world.
Erling Haaland of Manchester City scores during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Manchester City (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Mbappe, who has played his whole career in France and with two of the best clubs in the country has made a name for himself as an explosive talent, 205 goals in 282 games for the French star puts him at 0.72 goals per game.
Haaland’s numbers are a little more unique because the striker has played in four different leagues, Norway, Austria, Germany, and now England. Haaland’s output began to take shape at Molde after a failed stint at Bryne, In Austria, Haaland truly took off scoring 29 goals in only 27 matches.
In the Bundesliga it was more of the same with 86 goals in 88 matches and now in 6 games he is 4 goals over at 10. Taking out his time at the reserve sides, Haaaland has 145 goals in 173 competitive matches at the club level for a goal ratio of 0.83.
Haaland has adapted to cultures, styles, and teammates being the center of the attack in his last three clubs. At the international level Haaland has 20 goals in 21 caps for Norway, Mbappe 27 in 57 games for France.
The race for the best player in the next 10 years has already begun and Mbappe and Haaland have officially begun that debate, although Haaland at the moment might have more style points.
