Erling Haaland will break Alan Shearer's Premier League record, but he is no Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo
Simon Jordan believes Erling Haaland will knock Alan Shearer off his throne as the Premier League's top scorer.
However, the talkSPORT expert He also hinted that he may not have the same longevity as the legendary. Lionel Messi and christian ronaldo.
Haaland He extended his incredible goal tally for Manchester City to 103 in 110 appearances on Wednesday night with a brace. against Sparta Prague.
The Norwegian now has 44 Champions League goals to his name in just two more games, a record that will be difficult to beat.
Speaking about White and Jordan, Jim White suggested that we may have never seen a player as sensational as Haaland, but Jordan said: “I think so.
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“We've seen people who have scored a ton of goals and ultimately throughout his career, Ronaldo has almost scored a goal a game, hasn't he? Wherever he's gone, and that's remarkable. Haaland is a remarkable goalscorer.
“I think there are other aspects of his game that I would admit that he probably needs to work on and improve. But at this point, at 24 years old, scoring the type of goals (he scores), playing in a team…
“He must not lose sight of the fact that he is also playing in an extraordinary team, which creates the fear of God throughout the field for the rival. So the fact that Haaland is like this huge, big, big head of “Manchester City Offensive shark”.
Haaland has 73 goals in 74 Premier League games since he signed for City in 2022 and there is a widespread belief that he could become the competition's top scorer.
Newcastle legend Shearer He holds the title with 260 goals, but Jordan believes he will lose the crown to the current scoring machine if he stays in England.
“Haaland is a remarkable phenomenon,” he added. “He is an insatiable goalscorer who can score goals from practically anywhere, and I think he should be given all the applause he deserves.
“Because ultimately, if you score this many goals, it will crush them all (goal records). If it stays in English football, Alan Shearer's record of 260 Premier League goals will be dust.”
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White then raised the sentiment of fans messaging the show that Haaland is a great goalscorer, but not a great footballer.
“Well, I think there's probably something to be said there,” Jordan said in response.
“Was Gerd 'Der Bomber' Muller (German legend) a great footballer? Probably not, but he was a great goalscorer. I would say Jimmy Greaves was both, he was a great footballer and a great goalscorer.”
He later added: “Look, I think there's some prominence in that. I think he's a great goalscorer, but part of being a good footballer is the ability to score a goal, so it's hard to separate it.”
“Can he do the things that Messi and Ronaldo can do? Can he take on players, create space, control the flow of a game and create results on his own? No, he needs to be fed.”
Haaland didn't have the most touches on the ball against Sparta Prague, but given that he is City's striker, Jordan doesn't think this metric is too important for him.
“I mean, some people were criticizing his link-up play and the fact that he does certain things, but what do you want your centre-forward to do?
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“If my center forward is going to get six touches a game and score three goals, I'll have that center forward every day of the week, because that's his job. The idea that he can do other things…
“Manchester City have a wealth of players who can do other things that create the space and opportunity for Haaland to operate. He did this at Dortmund… So he was prolific at Dortmund, so it's not just Manchester City where he scored goals”.
Jordan stated that Haaland would join any team in the world and play for every country if he was eligible.
It's clear the 24-year-old is world-class and will likely remain so for the rest of his career, but Jordan raised doubts over whether he could last as long as Messi and Ronaldo.
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Messi is 37 and continues to score goals for fun with Argentina and Inter Miami, and Ronaldo, 39, also remains prolific with Portugal and Al Nassr.
But Haaland's physique can affect his ability to play at these ages, as Jordan explained: “Well… Messi is a little bit more of a smaller player, right, and Ronaldo has a different build. I mean, Haaland is a specimen, right?
“He's a physical lump, he's an absolute beast of a kid physically. So that could create a structural impact on him over the years.
“If he takes care of himself, given his size, you'd think he wouldn't be playing when he's 37, 38.”
He added: “When you compare him to goalscorers of the past, he's a world-class operator. When you're talking about someone who can grab the game by the throat and change the direction of travel, he can do it.” if someone else is giving him the ball.
