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Ahead of Manchester City's second leg in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) Round of 16, their star striker Erling Haaland was asked whether World Cup-winning Argentine captain Lionel Messi has to retire to allow the Norwegian to win "the most important individual awards". The 23-year-old striker gave a fitting response revealing his admiration for Leo Messi.
The defending champions, Manchester City are scheduled to host FC Copenhagen at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night in the Champions League. City have managed a 3-1 lead after their first leg against the Danish side and will look to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Ahead of Man City and Copenhagen's clash, Haaland was asked, "You scored a lot of goals and Messi won the most important individual awards, does he have to retire in order for you to win that?" The Norway striker responded, "Good question! I don’t know. He’s won the World Cup…"
Haaland picks Messi over Ronaldo
Despite scoring 52 goals across all competitions during the 2022-23 season, Haaland failed to win the Ballon d'Or 2023 award as Lionel Messi extended his record to eight titles. While the City striker believed that Messi clinched the award after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he claimed that the Argentine is the best player in football history.
Haaland, who idolised Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in his childhood days, has made a U-turn in picking his best footballer. Haaland ditched Ronaldo as he named Messi the best player to ever play football. Haaland added, "Messi is the best that has ever played, I think."
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