Striker Erling Haaland gave his answer to the endless debate about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo about who is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time).

In interviews, Erling Haaland was repeatedly asked to choose the best player in the world or compare Ronaldo and Messi. However, the 23-year-old striker often refuses to give his opinion on this topic.

However, recently, Haaland finally admitted that Messi is the best in the world. Accordingly, when asked if Messi had to hang up his shoes for Haaland to win the individual title, this player shared frankly.

Haaland replied: “I don’t know, good question. He won the World Cup so I don’t know what to say. He’s the best that ever played, I think. Maybe he needs to retire so another player can be considered the best in the world.” Haaland’s answer seemed to implicitly confirm that, for him, Messi is the GOAT and surpasses his great rival Ronaldo.

In the 2022-2023 season, Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 matches, helping Man City win a historic treble. However, the Norwegian player is still surpassed by Messi in the race to win the 2023 Golden Ball.

Although he missed the opportunity to win the Golden Ball, Haaland won the Gerd Muller Trophy, an award given to Europe’s top striker last season in the club and national team colors.

By this season, Haaland had already pocketed 28 goals for Man City. However, Haaland’s performance after returning in January from injury is still questioned. In the most recent match against MU, Haaland missed many good opportunities, notably finishing in front of an empty goal.

Haaland will join Man City to welcome Copenhagen at Etihad Stadium tomorrow morning (March 7) in the second leg of the 1/8 round of the Champions League. In the first leg, the Blue Man defeated their opponent 3-1, but Haaland could not write his name on the scoreboard. That’s why he is very determined to score in the upcoming match.