What Halaand Must Do To Reach Messi & CR7 Level – Pique

The Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has a “long way to go” in order to catch up to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

With 52 goals in his first season at the Etihad Stadium, the prolific Norwegian has started that journey positively. Following a similarly fruitful stint at Borussia Dortmund, such efforts enabled City to win the FA Cup, the Premier League, and the Champions League for the first time ever.

READ ALSO: Ronaldo Hopes Goal Beast Haaland Joins Mbappe & Bellingham at Real Madrid

Haaland has been held back slightly by injury issues this season but still has another 29 efforts to his name. He has been pipped to Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best honours by all-time great Messi, but is expected to land such prizes at some stage in the near future.

Whether he sparks his own GOAT debate remains to be seen, with World Cup winner Pique – who played alongside Messi and Ronaldo at Barcelona and Manchester United respectively – telling talkSPORT of Haaland’s quest to rub shoulders with the very best: “I think he has a lot of potential but to arrive at the level of Messi and Cristiano, it’s a long way to go. He has to win so many titles, he has to do this for 15, 17, 20 years and this is not easy also. He’s very young, very promising and he has a lot of potential but still I think he’s far away from those two.”

With Haaland essential to Pep Guardiola’s future ambitions, City is still in the running to defend all three of the trophies they won in 2023. However, there are still issues with fitness, so the gifted 23-year-old will need to be handled carefully going forward.