“Not even Messi or Cristiano had these numbers at his age.” Pep Guardiola hails Β£54m putting up numbers that surpass the all time greats π
On a personal level, the Norwegian attacker has struggled this season, scoring only 21 goals.
He scored his first goal since November 25 in City’s 2-0 win over Everton last Saturday.
Haaland was injured for more than a month during that dry spell, but four games without a goal is unusual for someone with his high standards.
“It looks like I’m complaining about Erling, but it was in general,” Guardiola stated before of City’s Champions League match against FC Copenhagen on Tuesday night, live on talkSPORT.
“If he doesn’t score tomorrow, the day after, or next week, it’s not a big deal.
“He’s quite strong. It originates from nature. He has coped well since he is so mentally strong. He has one goal and hopes to add two more.
You can view his numbers for his age. In the Champions League, neither [Lionel] Messi nor Cristiano [Ronaldo] had similar stats at his age.”
Ronaldo and Messi have 140 and 129 goals, respectively, in the Champions League, well outpacing Haaland, who has 40 goals in Europe’s elite club championship.
But, at 23 years old, Haaland has time on his side, and the numbers strongly suggest he can pass the famous players.
Before turning 24 in June 2011, Messi had 37 Champions League goals, three fewer than Haaland, while Ronaldo had only 16 at the end of the 2008/09 season, when he was already 24.
Haaland’s 24th birthday isn’t until July, so if City make it to a second consecutive European final, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to improve his remarkable average.