On a warm June evening during the Club World Cup, Erling Haaland reached a towering landmark when he scored his 300th career goal.
For some context, The Manchester City striker had reached that milestone in just 370 games, which was far quicker than Lionel Messi, who needed 418 matches and Cristiano Ronaldo, who took 554.
But the Norwegian forward refused to get carried away after scoring the record goal and believes Messi and Ronaldo records remain untouchable.
“Am I the best player in the world right now? No, I’m one of them. No one will beat [Messi and Ronaldo’s] records, not even me,” Haaland said [via SportInforma, translated via Google Translate]
Haaland, who is just 25, has now scored 124 goals for Cityzens in 146 games. His strike rate has stunned the football world but he considers the legacy of Messi and Ronaldo completely unshakable.
The numbers back that belief- Messi has 874 goals and 388 assists from 1115 games while Ronaldo has 938 goals and 257 assists in 1281 matches.
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Haaland was also asked about critics who claim he only scores easy goals near the box. He didn’t hesitate.
“What’s the hardest thing to do in football? If you’re a ‘tap-in merchant,’ that means you score a lot of goals, right?” he said.
“That kind of gives you my answer. I like being called that, I love it. It means you’re doing something well and something that many people can’t do.”
City will begin their Premier League season away to Wolves on August 16, and all eyes will be on Haaland again.
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