Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo controls a ball during the Portugal’s official training on the eve of the group H World Cup soccer match between Portugal and Ghana at the Al Shahaniya SC training site in Al Shahaniya, Qatar, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is slowly staking his claim as the best striker of an entire generation – but when it comes to pure goalscorers, he’s seemingly not a patch on Ronaldo Nazario – with fellow Manchester City legend Shaun Goater instead believing him to be similar to namesake Cristiano.
Haaland’s double against Crystal Palace on Friday saw him get the ball rolling for the Premier League season, with the brace bringing him up to 114 goals in his Premier League career inside just 134 games.
Alongside a superb seven-haul at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Haaland’s name and stature has sat amongst the greatest strikers in the world for around half a decade, in which he continues to top the Premier League top goalscorer rankings for City.
However, when posed with the question of comparing Haaland to the greatest strikers of times gone by, Goater only praised the Norwegian for being the best finisher in the world – though he didn’t quite have him in the bracket of Ronaldo Nazario or Kylian Mbappe for his dribbling and ability to fashion chances.
Erling Haaland’s Cristiano Ronaldo comparison
Speaking to Nyestecasino, Goater said: “It’s hard to compare, but they are different types of strikers. The Brazilian Ronaldo was a player who would dribble past two or three players, with step-overs and flashy stuff to sit players down and score. That was the attractiveness.
“I think for Erling Haaland, the closer comparison is probably between him and Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano Ronaldo in his earlier days had those fancy dribbles and thousands of step-overs that left defenders out before producing a great finish. But certainly in his later years, maybe the last five years or so, Erling Haaland is closer to Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of finishing.
“If you’re talking about finishing, he’s the best finisher out there. Does that mean the best striker out there? Well, when it comes to finishing, he is without a shadow of a doubt. But the argument for people like Lionel Messi or Ronaldo exists because of the stuff they did that led up to the goal.
“Kylian Mbappé is a little bit of that as well, he could dribble past a player or two and get a finish in, or do a combination and finish it off. Erling Haaland as a finisher sits up there on his own. He is the best finisher, his record shows that. If his game was to involve a little bit more combination play and dribbling past players alongside the finishes, then he comes into that conversation as well. But as a standalone finisher, he’s up there on his own.”
That doesn’t knock Haaland by any means when it comes to his own abilities, and he’ll be looking to take that into his fifth successive season at City. However, with Enzo Fernandez now joining City’s midfield, it could well provide him with further support in behind, seeing him grab another 30-goal season in Light Blue.
However, former Manchester United star Louis Saha believes that City could struggle in that area with Rodri being the ‘fall guy’ for Enzo to come in and shine.
He told Mr Gamble: “Enzo Fernandez cannot replace Rodri for Manchester City. I respect him as a player, and he is a terrific player, but he’s not of the same calibre of Rodri. When you want to win the league title, you will have players like Mohamed Salah who lose the ball in certain areas by being aggressive at trying to create chances, but that is why you need a player in Rodri’s position who balances that out. It’s a very different position and not one that Enzo Fernandez could necessarily play for Manchester City.”
Time will tell if Haaland can be considered one of the all-time greats – and if Enzo can provide him with that service, it could prove a fruitful window for the Norwegian giant.
