Wayne Rooney says the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is over, with the Manchester United legend billing Erling Haaland as the next great.
WHAT HAPPENED? Two eternal rivals that boast 12 Ballons d’Or between them are approaching the end of their respective careers, although both appear to still have plenty left in the tank. Messi and Ronaldo have helped to raise the bar of individual brilliance in football circles to never before seen heights, with it now up to the next generation to prove that they can follow in the most illustrious of footsteps. Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe is among those ready to lead that charge, but Rooney feels that Manchester City striker Haaland – with 48 goals to his name through 42 appearances this season – could be the next man to claim a Golden Ball.
WHAT THEY SAID: Rooney has said in The Times: “Erling Haaland is the best footballer in the world right now. Lionel Messi is the greatest but, at this moment, nobody is playing better than a striker who — even though I broke records in that position myself — takes my breath away with the levels he’s reaching. He’s the best in the world because of the numbers he’s posting, the performances he’s putting in and the mentality he shows.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: United’s all-time leading goalscorer added on Haaland’s bid to overtake 2022 World Cup winner Messi in the race for Golden Ball honours in 2023: “If you’re looking at who is going to win the Ballon d’Or then it has got to be him, providing he keeps up his form of this season. And why wouldn’t he? A record of 224 goals in 264 games is the mark of a player whose standards don’t drop. We’ve had the era of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, now this is his time, the era of Haaland and Kylian Mbappé.
“When there is a talent like him around you just have to enjoy it — even if he is wearing a Manchester City shirt. After the Community Shield, when he was getting stick, I wrote that I had no doubts about him and that he would go on to prove the difference in the title race. I always felt he was the player who was going to take City where they needed to go. I was wrong about one thing, though. I said Haaland was capable of scoring a goal a game in the Premier League and in fact he has 32 goals in 28 appearances. It’s very rare to see someone quite so lethal.”
IN THREE PHOTOS:
WHAT NEXT? Haaland has been a revelation for City since completing a £51 million ($63m) transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer and would become a serious contender for the Ballon d’Or if he were to inspire Pep Guardiola’s side to a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble.
