Haaland, at the age of 22, is better than Messi and Cristiano in his prime

The more the goal, the more the intrigue about what dimension it will reach the Haaland phenomenonmeasured at the moment in 11 goals in 7 Premier games -14 goals in 9 games adding the Champions League- a succession of broken records and a figure that moves as it defines: in his 11 Premier goals, he scored more goals than before. 13 English league teams, including Manchester United (8) and Chelsea (8).

Also more than Atlético (10), Borussia Dortmund (9) and Juventus (9). Needless to say, he was also very well accompanied in the ‘Sky Blues’, and while his teammates were inventing plays, he was inventorying a lot. Automaton scorer, the Norwegian seems programmed to fulfill the signs that predict him as the best scorer of all time. As they approach the twilight of their careers Cristiano Ronaldo Y Leo Messithird and first in the table of top scorers in history with 816 and 774 goals with the Austrian Joseph Bican between 805, the recurring question of whether Haaland will catch up to them is getting more and more intense.

Haaland, Cristiano and Messi

Goals played in the first 6,000 minutes in the major leagues

1

Erling Haaland – 73 goals

two

Lionel Messi – 40 goals

3

Cristiano Ronaldo – 17 goals

The current numbers say absolutely yes, even minus the Norwegian many he has scored in less demanding leagues such as the Norwegian with mold and the Austrian with the Salzburg. Counting his games in the Bundesliga and the ones he played at City -if we only consider the leagues-, the Nordic striker accumulates 73 goals in 74 matches and 5,912 minutes. Minutes represent a fairer metric than number of games, as 10 minutes on the green is not the same as 90.

But even considering the same amount of minutes, the average goalscoring of Messi and Cristiano is very low when they both reached the number of minutes in their youth: 40 goals for the Argentine -who needs 96 games to touch 6,000 minutes on the field-, and only 17 for the Portuguese, who needs 92 games. In Champions yes, we can consider the number of games, because the minutes played by Messi and Cristiano are similar to the Norwegian. Haaland, in 21 games and 1,600 minutes in the top continental competition, has accumulated 26 goals. ’10’ has scored 8 in his first 21 games, while CR7 has yet to make his debut.

The comparison also has some tactical nuances worth mentioning. Haaland was born a pure center forward and so he will live until the end of his career while Messi and Cristiano are built as gunners, because in their beginning they are both ending who left the band. The Argentine’s scoring explosion ended in Pep Guardiola He revealed to him in 2009 that he could be devastating as a false ‘9’, while Ronaldo increased his numbers from last year at United with 31 goals in the Premier -course 08/09-, and, more of all, in Real Madrid .

Haaland and Cristiano and Messi in their best years

Effective percentage

1

Haaland – 38% (current course) and 1 goal every 2.6 shots on goal

two

Messi – 22% (course 14/15) and 1 goal every 4.5 shots on goal

3

Cristiano – 19% (course 14/15) and 1 goal every 5 shots

However, there is a comparison between Haaland and Cristiano and Messi in terms of the most suitable finishers: the percentage of success with their shots on goal, go between the three sticks or outside. The Norwegian ‘ogre’ needs 37 shots this season to score 14 goals which adds up, which is 38% effective or, what is the same, one target every 2.6 shots on goal. Cristiano Ronaldoin his best season between the League (48) and the Champions League (10), he scored 58 goals with 295 shots, a 19% (1 point per 5 shots).

Messi’s most prolific scoring campaign was Guardiola’s last at Barça, 11/12, with 50 goals in the Liga and 14 in the Champions League. However, it didn’t match his best course goals/shots ratio of 14/15, which topped Neymar Y Luis Suarez. That year he registered 53 goals, with 43 in the League and 10 in the Champions League, requiring 237 shots, which translated into 22% effective or one point every 4.5 shots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LUm7hT9hPI

Haaland’s current 38% success rate -double-, and may drop, but throughout his career and at 22 years old, he has an average of 30%, more than the best ratio of Cristiano and Messi in their era. At the current rate, the Norwegian will go to 60 goals in the Premier League, almost double the 34 of Alan Shearer with Blackburn Rovers champions of 94/95. An outrage equal to 60 ng dixie dean with Everton, the absolute record in the entire English league, although we are talking about an era almost out of print, prehistoric football: the 27/28 season.

It also cannot be overlooked in comparing success the profile of each player. Messi is a player who, due to his privileged view of football, among other virtues as a total football player, is more involved in the game and absorbs more balls, where he is more involved in more actions that give him the possibility to finish more, in addition to the fact that many of his shots are born from plays created from nothing. Whoever questions him as the best player in history cannot dispute that, regardless of the numbers, he is the best scorer ever able to develop goals on his own. Cristiano, for his part, as a very different profile from Messi, also needs to make more contact with the ball.

That is surely Erling Haaland’s natural -or supernatural- gift, which is always to reach the goal without interfering, game section. The striker who does not look for opportunities but waits for them, like one who passes without studying, like one who flirts without dancing. A nature that Guardiola has not changed despite the fact that he has said that City will not change the way they play for Haaland. “We haven’t added many things to his game,” Pep said a few days ago, ready to take the Norwegian to the next level. “He can be a better player, for sure”, The ‘citizen’ coach also assured.

Injuries, Haaland’s big concern

Right now, if there’s one thing that seems to have ruined Erling Haaland’s plans, it’s injuries. Although in this recently started season he has not yet suffered from them, the muscle problems they became more frequent than the Norwegian would like. A striking figure is that the Norwegian has missed almost as many games in the last three seasons due to muscle injuries as Cristiano has in the last 15 years: 25 against the Portuguese’s 28, while at just 28 Messi has also had to be absent for this reason in the last 12 years.

his father, Alf-Inge Haaland can testify how injuries can decide your fate, even his most extreme case of suffering the wrath of Roy Keane. The Irishman claimed revenge for an action against Erling’s father in a United-Leeds match in 1997 where his crusader ruined and ended Haaland’s career with a brutal tackle in 2001 at United-City, a team that -also owned by Alf- Inge. But Erling Haaland, wood and ambition of the best scorer of all time, the “perfect person” As Guardiola said, he hopes to be repeatedly guilty of goals and not injuries, the only thing that seemed to avoid the inevitable.