"He's going that way to break more records" - Erling Haaland can emulate Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, says Manchester City teammate
Manchester City's John Stones has claimed that his teammate Erling Haaland will break the Champions League records of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi after his incredible performance against RB Leipzig.
Haaland recently broke a long-standing record at City by becoming the club's all-time leading scorer for a single season, with 39 goals. In City's recent 7-0 victory over RB Leipzig, Haaland added five more goals to his impressive tally, taking his total to 33 goals from just 25 Champions League games.
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Stones believes that Haaland has the potential to emulate the incredible goal-scoring feats of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have scored 140 and 129 goals, respectively, in Europe's elite club competition.
The England international said via Mirror Football:
"How do I go about this without putting pressure on Erling?" said Stones, when quizzed about Haaland emulating Ronaldo and Messi.
"He'd probably thrive off it. I believe he really could do what he wants, just from his hunger, his attitude and his professionalism and I'd love to see him do it, definitely.''
The defender also praised Haaland's team-oriented mentality, saying he is focused on winning and that personal accolades will come naturally. He added:
"I think he wants to just win. I think if you have that mentality, then the personal accolades just come naturally without chasing them. That could be totally wrong, but I think Erling is a huge team player and with that kind of mindset, he's going that way to break more records."
Stones also highlighted the importance of Kevin de Bruyne in the Manchester City setup, saying that the Belgian international, along with his Norwegian striker, will go all out to win the Champions League title this season.
In the match against Leipzig, De Bruyne produced a stunning strike for City's seventh goal, with Haaland in the right place at the right time to score. Stones called Haaland an "absolute ball magnet" and praised his ability to turn up on big occasions.
Former Al-Hilal President says club would not surpass Al Nassr's media level after Cristiano Ronaldo's signing with potential Lionel Messi deal
According to Prince Abdullah bin Musaed, former president of Al-Hilal, the club would not have been able to surpass the media level obtained by rival team Al-Nassr, even if they had signed football superstar Lionel Messi.
Al-Nassr made headlines worldwide when they signed former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo on a £200 million deal in December 2022.
He said:
“If Lionel Messi had come to Al-Hilal, the club would not have been able to surpass the media level that Al-Nassr obtained from the Cristiano Ronaldo deal.”
Despite Al-Hilal's strong reputation in the region and their own successes on the field, Prince Abdullah bin Musaed believes that Al-Nassr's media profile is too strong for Al-Hilal to overcome, even with a signing as big as Messi.