Erling Haaland has broken several records as he continues to grow in the game and he is currently his generation’s brightest star.
The then-Borussia Dortmund striker back in 2021 rebuffed comparisons between him and two of football’s greatest; Ronaldo and Messi.
Erling Haaland has claimed that Ronaldo and Messi ‘are still very far away’ and beyond his reach.
But when you look at his achievements so far, you would see that the 23-year-old is not far off from the game’s biggest stars.
Though Haaland made his debut at a much younger age than both Messi and Ronaldo, he has accrued fewer appearances than either icon at this stage of his career.
Haaland has already totted up an astonishing 200 senior goals for club and country at the age of 23.
Futballnews Today takes a look at the number of goals scored by all the top stars; Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo before Turning 23.
Erling Haaland – 208 Goals
Erling Braut Haaland, a Norwegian football player, was born on 21 July, 2000 and plays as a striker for Manchester City and Norway.
Haaland is considered one of the best players in the world and he is known for his speed, strength, positioning, and finishing inside the box.
Since moving to Manchester City, he has been scoring for fun but that does not mean he is doing it for the first time as he’s been making headlines for his lethal finishing.
Totaling his finishing, unlike the rest players on our list, Erling Haaland found the back of the net 208 times for both club and country before he turned 23.
Kylian Mbappe – 198 Goals
Kylian Mbappe Lottin is a French footballer who was born on December 20, 1998, and captains the France national team in addition to playing for PSG.
Just like Erling Haaland, Mbappe is also one of the best young players of his generation and fans mostly compare both of them to Ronaldo and Messi.
Mbappe has been compared several times to Ronaldo as well as Messi in terms of number and the Frenchman is still going.
He also was able to score about 198 goals for both club and country before he turned 23 years old.
Lionel Messi – 140 Goals
Lionel Andrés Messi, a forward for MLS side Inter Miami, was born in Argentina on June 24, 1987, and he is also the team’s captain for his country.
Messi, who is recognized as one of the all-time best players, has a record seven Ballon d’Or victories, a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020, he was selected for the Ballon d’Or Dream Team.
Aside the numerous awards he won during his time in Barcelona, PSG, and Argentina, he also scored 140 goals for both club and country before turning 23.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 102 Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM is a Portuguese international who was born on 5th February, 1985 and captains both the Saudi Arabia club Al Nassr and the Portugal national team.
Ronaldo has won 32 trophies in his career, which includes seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship, and the UEFA Nations League.
CR7 as he is fondly called, just like Erling Haaland has broken so many records that cannot be broken in decades to come and is one of footballer’s greatest.
Before the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus star turned 23, he had already scored 102 goals for both club and country.
