Comparing Erling Haaland’s record with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at 24

Erling Haaland has scored over a hundred more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo, and significantly more than Lionel Messi, at the same age.

Haaland won the treble with a whopping 52 goals in his debut season at Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, so he has probably achieved everything there is to achieve in club sport.

He missed out on the League Cup and his second year at The Etihad was relatively disappointing, but he did retain the Premier League title and the Golden Boot.

The striker, who was born in Leeds when his father Alfie was still playing in the Premier League, turns 24 today.

We thought we’d take this opportunity to see how his numbers compare to two icons of the game who set impossibly high standards: Messi and Ronaldo. And the numbers are extraordinary.

In terms of senior appearances for club and country, Haaland is averaging just under a goal or assist per game with 256 goals and 54 assists (310 goal contributions) in 313 appearances. That equates to a goal every 87 minutes and a goal or assist every 72 minutes.

That’s significantly more productive at this stage of his career than Messi and Ronaldo were at the same age.

It should be noted, however, that Haaland has spent his entire career as a true striker, the focal point of the attack and – particularly at Manchester City – blessed with the guidance of some wonderfully creative players.

Ronaldo started out as a winger at Manchester United and it was only much later in his career that he adapted his game to play more like a classic number 9 player.

Messi, on the other hand, has never played as a traditional striker, although he has often been deployed as a false nine throughout his career.

By the age of 24, both Messi and Ronaldo had reached unprecedented heights in their games.

Messi turned 24 in 2011 and scored a personal best 50 goals in La Liga the following season, and 73 in all competitions.

Ronaldo turned 24 in 2009 and left for Real Madrid a few months later. He became Los Blancos’ all-time top scorer with an impressive 438 goals in 450 games.

It remains to be seen whether Haaland can elevate his game to new levels in his theoretically prime years ahead, or whether he can match the longevity of either. But he does have the edge over the two era-defining players in terms of his numbers at 24.

Perhaps most striking of all are the Champions League numbers. Ronaldo is easily the all-time top scorer in the prestigious European competition with 140 goals. But he had only scored 11 Champions League goals by the time he was 24, 30 fewer than Haaland at the same age.

READ NEXT: Comparing Kylian Mbappe’s Current Record With Lionel Messi And Cristiano Ronaldo At 25

Try a quiz: can you name the 50 best goalscorers in the major European leagues since 2000?

Here’s a full breakdown of the numbers:

Erling Haaland

Appearances: 313
Goals: 256
Staff: 54

Minutes per goal: 87.5
Minutes per goal or assist: 72.2

Hat tricks: 20
To punish: 45/50

Competition goals: 176
Champions League Goals: 41
International goals: 31

Trophies

Club: Austrian Bundesliga x 1, Austrian Cup x 1, DFB Pokal x 1, Premier League x 2, FA Cup x 1, Champions League x 1, UEFA Super Cup x 1

Youth: Syrenka Cup (Norway under 17) x 1

International: No

Individual: European Golden Boot x 1, Austrian Bundesliga Player of the Season x 1, Bundesliga Player of the Season x 1, FWA Footballer of the Year x 1, Premier League Player of the Season x 1, Premier League Golden Boot x 1, Golden Boy x 1, PFA Players’ Player of the Year x 1, UEFA Men’s Player of the Year x 1, Champions League Top Scorer x 2

READ: Fastest players to reach 50 goals in major European leagues since 2000: Haaland dominates…

Lionel Messi

Appearances: 326
Goals: 197
Staff: 84

Minutes per goal: 125.4
Minutes per goal or assist: 87.9

Hat tricks: 10
To punish: 19/24

Competition goals: 119
Champions League Goals: 37
International goals: 17

Trophies

Club: La Liga x 5, Champions League x 3, Copa del Rey x 1, Supercopa de Espana x 3, UEFA Super Cup x 1

Youth: FIFA Under-20 World Champions x 1, Summer Olympics x 1

International: No

Individual: Ballon d’Or x 2, European Golden Boot x 1, La Liga Best Player x 3, Pichichi (La Liga top scorer) x 1, Golden Boy x 1

Cristiano Ronaldo

Appearances: 362
Goals: 132
Staff: 66

Minutes per goal: 199.9
Minutes per goal or assist: 133.3

Hat tricks: 1
To punish: 16/20

Competition goals: 78
Champions League Goals: 11
International goals: 21

Trophies

Club: Portuguese Super Cup x 1, Premier League x 2, FA Cup x 1, League Cup x 1, Champions League x 1

Youth: Toulon Tournament x 1

International: No

Individual: Ballon d’Or x 1, European Golden Boot x 1, Premier League Player of the Season x 2, PFA Players Player of the Year x 2, Premier League Golden Boot x 1