In the head of Erling Haaland there is no doubt. Lionel Messi is the best player of all time and the Norwegian striker has no problem expressing it when they asked him about the 2023 Ballon d’Or and The Best award that the Argentine won over him despite his spectacular season with Manchester City.
This Tuesday during the press conference prior to the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 that the Citizens are going to play this Wednesday against Copenhagen at the Etihad Stadium, the tall attacker was blunt when asked about his opinion regarding to the awards received by the captain of Inter Miami.
“He won those trophies and he also won the World Cup. He is the best ever, at least in my opinion”said Erling Haaland, who had a spectacular performance last season, winning the treble (Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup) with Manchester City, being a key player in those conquests thanks to his 36 goals.
“The Android” also made reference to the criticism he has been receiving this season despite the fact that he remains the top scorer so far this season in the English championship thanks to his 18 goals in 22 games played, helping City is in second place in the classification.
“Last year I scored 36 goals and was the top scorer. This season I’m still the top scorer, with 18, so you can think it’s being a good season or not for me.”assured the Norwegian striker who has just scored a goal in the victory achieved by City in the Manchester derby (3-1) at the weekend.
“I think we are doing pretty well as a team and that is my goal. I have failed, I have failed many times and I will surely do so in the future too and people will criticize me. Do I have to think about it? No”added the player who is in only his second season with the team led by Pep Guardiola.
Finally, Erling Haaland highlighted that he has been working and achieving improvements regarding his mental health, an aspect that is much better now despite the constant questions and criticism that professional players receive and also, in his particular case, the high demands that he puts on himself.
“I could start crying a lot if I missed too many times, so I had to work on it. It has been a challenge and I think I demand a lot of myself and people ask a lot of me too. It’s something I work on.”closed the Norwegian.
Keep reading:
– Erling Haaland returns to goal in 2024 and takes Manchester City to the top of the Premier League amid a tough fight with Liverpool
– Pep Guardiola, technical director of Manchester City, compares Erling Haaland with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when they were the Norwegian’s age
– The surprising scoring pace of Uruguayan Martín Cauteruccio in Peruvian football that crushes the records achieved by Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé