Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe have long been thought of as the ‘young GOATs’, that is to say the players who will provide the next great individual rivalry in football after that of Lionel Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo.
There appears to be only respect between the pair, at least on Haaland’s side, with the Manchester City forward calling Mbappe “phenomenal” for what he has already achieved.
Manchester City forward Erling Haaland has shared his admiration for Kylian Mbappe, labelling the Paris Saint-Germain star “crazy” and an “incredible player”.
Haaland and Mbappe have both ascended to the top of the game in quick time, with Mbappe winning the World Cup at 19 and starring on a regular basis in the Champions League for first Monaco, and then Paris Saint-Germain.
Haaland’s feats don’t match Mbappe’s on the international stage, but the Norwegian’s goalscoring record in domestic leagues and European competitions has been extraordinary, and he has continued scoring for fun for Manchester City this term after joining from Borussia Dortmund.
They appear the heirs to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in all but name, and there seems to be a high level of respect between them – certainly from Haaland’s side.
In an interview with Canal+, Haaland said: “There are so many good players and Kylian is one of them. He is so strong. The French are so lucky that he plays for France.
“I would like him to play for Norway obviously, but it’s not the case. But yes, he’s an incredible player.”
Expanding on Mbappe’s palmarès to date, Haaland added: “He’s so fast, so strong and he’s been doing it for so many years.”
What is he? Two years older than me? It’s crazy.
“Sometimes you have to tell yourself that he still has ten years of playing at the top level.
“He is phenomenal.”
Man City star Erling Haaland’s ‘secret team’ revealed by Julian Alvarez
Julian Alvarez claims Erling Haaland is a secret Boca Juniors supporter (Image: Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
Julian Alvarez has revealed Boca Juniors is Erling Haaland’s “secret” team and the Manchester City striker has an infatuation for Argentine football.
It is no secret that, despite his allegiance to Norway, Haaland was born in Leeds and has publicly shown his affection towards the Whites in the past. In December, the 33-goal striker refused to celebrate his two goals against United as a mark of respect.
Two years ago, Haaland surprised football fans when, after scoring a brace for Norway in a 5-1 win over Northern Ireland, requested Leeds star Stuart Dallas’ shirt at the full-time whistle. However, according to Alvarez, a lifelong River Plate fan, his loyalties lie elsewhere…
“Beyond what we all know about football, Haaland is a good boy,” he told TyC Sports. “He helps me, we talk and, from the outside, I try to look at him to learn. When I arrived he told me that he was for Boca and told me about La Bombonera (Boca’s stadium).
“I think he was with Leonardo Balerdi in Borussia Dortmund and that was a bit of an influence. Let’s see if we change it little by little, it’s going to be difficult but we’re going to try.”
Former teammate Balerdi left Boca Juniors to pursue a career at Dortmund in 2019. Now at Marseille, the 24-year-old has spoken about how he indoctrinated Haaland while the two shared a dressing room.
“I drove him crazy with Boca, I showed him videos of fans, photos of the stadium and everything related to Boca,” Balerdi said in 2021. “I told him what it felt like to play in La Bombonera, which was something unique.
“He became a fan of Boca and to this day we are in contact and every time he sees a video of Boca he sends it to me.
“He annoys me and asks ‘When are we going?’ So hopefully one day he’ll have to experience that. He asked me to send him a Boca shirt with the No9 on it. He’s quite a fan, I’m going to keep driving him crazy.”
