Erling Haaland doesn't believe he and Kylian Mbappe will share a career-stretching
rivalry similar to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, 🎅 but is aware 'everyone thinks'
that will happen.
With Ronaldo and Messi in the twilight years of their careers and
playing 🎅 in Saudi Arabia and USA, the European gauntlet has fallen to Haaland and Mbappe
to take over.
The Manchester City striker 🎅 edged ahead of his Parisian counterpart last
season by winning the Treble during his first year in English football, while 🎅 Mbappe's
Paris Saint-Germain struggled and his future was thrown into doubt.
Both have been
shortlisted for the upcoming Ballon d'Or that 🎅 crowns the best player in the world,
however, Messi is widely tipped to win the award for an eighth time 🎅 after guiding
Argentina to the World Cup last year.
Haaland insisted he doesn't focus on other
players but understands why people 🎅 believe he and Mbappe will be the next global
football rivalry.
Erling Haaland (pictured) has downplayed an expected rivalry with
Kylian 🎅 Mbappe
Mbappe (pictured) is widely regarded as Haaland's closest competitor in
world football
Haaland is on the shortlist for the upcoming Ballon 🎅 d'Or and recently
won UEFA's men's player of the year award
'That's what everyone thinks, but you have to
emphasise just 🎅 how crazy the things Messi and Cristiano have done,' he told France
Football.
'You also have to remember that they're still 🎅 doing it, even if they're
getting older. They're still fantastic players.
'But I never talk about myself being
against other players, 🎅 it's not my way of seeing things. I focus on myself, I only try
to be better every day, to 🎅 continue enjoying what I do and being the best version of
myself,' he said.
Messi and Ronaldo have shared fierce competition 🎅 throughout their
careers, with their time in LaLiga at Barcelona and Real Madrid the crux of their
rivalry.
Their ability to 🎅 push one another led to them sharing a 10-year stranglehold
on the Ballon d'Or competition before Luka Modric broke the 🎅 deadlock in 2024.
However,
Ronaldo recently explained that their rivalry is now over after they 'changed the
history of football'.
Scoring 52 🎅 goals in 53 appearances for Pep Guardiola's side last
season saw Haaland cement his status as one of the best 🎅 strikers in the world having
already starred in Denmark and Germany before moving to England.
Haaland (right)
insists he doesn't focus 🎅 on other footballers as he is too obsessed with his own
game
Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi (right) previously shared 🎅 a fierce
rivalry that dominated European football
Individual accolades have since followed with
him recently winning the PFA's player of the 🎅 year and UEFA's men's player of the year
award following a standout season.
Meanwhile, Mbappe has previously been shortlisted
for a 🎅 host of accolades and has finished in the top 10 of Ballon d'Or nominees
previously but is yet to force 🎅 his way into the final three.
The Frenchman has already
won the World Cup and scored a hattrick in last year's 🎅 final against Messi's Argentina,
but is yet to challenge himself outside of French league football.
Strong links to Real
Madrid have 🎅 followed him in the last few years and he was relegated to train with a
separate group of PSG players 🎅 this summer after stating his desire to leave the club on
a free transfer next year. He has since re-joined 🎅 the first team.
