The Manchester City goal machine reveals the one Premier League record he does know and earns praise from Pep Guardiola for his humble, team-first mentality.
Despite a staggering start to the season that has seen him net 17 goals in 13 games, Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has humbly rejected any comparisons to footballing icons Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
When asked if he belongs in the same conversation as the two modern greats, the Norwegian’s response was immediate and self-effacing: “No, not at all, far off. No-one can get close to them, so no.” This comes after he finished as runner-up to Messi in the 2023 Ballon d’Or voting.
While he may be shunning the loftiest of comparisons, Haaland is acutely aware of one historic benchmark: Alan Shearer’s all-time Premier League scoring record of 260 goals. “I know this record,” Haaland admitted, despite being 162 goals behind the mark. “I don’t really know any records, but this one I know.”
However, the 25-year-old was quick to redirect the focus away from personal accolades and back onto the team. “I can’t think about records I can break. That’s the last thing I think of,” he stated. “I try to help the team win football games. That’s my job… I know it’s boring, I know you want me to say the complete opposite, but it’s not how it is.”
This team-first attitude has not gone unnoticed by his manager. Pep Guardiola, who recently named Haaland to his leadership group for the first time, praised the striker’s rare combination of world-class talent and humility.
“It’s difficult to find a real world class player to be incredibly humble,” Guardiola said. “I had the feeling that he always had an eye on what is best for the team. That is difficult to find in players of this ability. Erling is like that.”
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