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Erling Haaland makes brutally honest Cristiano Ronaldo admission - 'I don't want to'
Nov 26 2025 00:16 · By Bruna Reis · 16 Reads
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Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland has humbly dismissed comparisons to football legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - despite his own impressive scoring record. The 25-year-old striker, who has already netted 19 goals in just 16 appearances for City this season, insists that the two superstars are in a league of their own.
In the Premier League, there are only the three teams - Tottenham , Aston Villa and Newcastle United - that have managed to keep Haaland from scoring against them. Internationally, he's been instrumental in leading Norway to their first World Cup since 1998, having scored an impressive 16 goals in eight qualifiers.
Haaland's knack for finding the back of the net seems almost effortless this campaign, with defences struggling to contain him. There are few Premier League records that the Norwegian doesn't already hold.
Since his £51million transfer to the Etihad Stadium , Haaland has racked up an astonishing 94 goals in 104 games in the competition.
His 36-goal haul in the 2022/2023 season set a new record and, if he maintains that pace, he is on track to surpass Alan Shearer's all-time record of 260 goals within the next five or six seasons.
Despite these impressive stats, Haaland remains modest when compared to Messi and Ronaldo.
"I think, with Messi and Ronaldo, I think they should be in their own category, with all they've been doing 15 years at the highest level," he told Sky Sports' Premier League YouTube channel.
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"I think that no one comes close to this, what they've been doing, competing against each other, the goals they scored, the titles they won, the records they've been breaking, both of them.
"That's why I don't want to get compared with them."
Haaland went on: "I don't want to look at them, look at what they've been doing. It's if you start to compare with them, it's it's not fun for us. It's too difficult, you know.
"That's just how it is. So, let me just be in the background and not too much focus would be better."
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.