The Norwegian forward has scored a staggering 48 goals in 42 appearances ahead of Arsenal's potentially crucial Premier League trip to Etihad on Wednesday.
It is not often that coach Pep Guardiola praises Man City players personally, certainly not enough to put them on the same level as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
This is especially true when compared to the former player, a player who has helped Guardiola achieve many of the greatest successes in management at Barcelona. The Argentine striker, who scored 73 goals for Barca in all competitions in the 2011-12 season, is the greatest player of all time, according to the Man City coach.
Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo's highest number of goals in a season is 61 for Real Madrid in the 2014-15 season, and he has always rivaled Messi in terms of rankings and statistics.
While constantly demanding more of his team, in general, Guardiola tends to reduce expectations on individual achievements. However, as City prepare for Arsenal's trip to the Etihad on Wednesday in what is sure to be a pivotal encounter between two of the Premier League's best sides, 48 ??goals cannot be overlooked or overlooked. after Erling Haaland's 42 appearances in his first season for the Sky Blues.
The 22-year-old's remarkable stats have sparked a lot of debate about the quality and ability to reach the heights of football icons such as 35-year-old Messi and 38-year-old striker Ronaldo of Al-Nassr.
His Man City team-mate Bernardo Silva, who plays with Ronaldo for Portugal, said Haaland has a 'Midas Touch' and anything he touches turns into a goal, not gold.
“The goal is quantified, it's hard to believe; That's the level of Cristiano and Messi, that number of goals," Silva told Arab News exclusively. "I hope Erling can continue down this path because we need his goals until the last game of the season. "He definitely has the same mentality as Cristiano, always wants to be in the box, always wants to score. He doesn't care if he touches the ball once or twice, when he touches the ball he scores. table. He's just a good striker."
Silva said his teammates knew that if they could get the ball into the box, Haaland would be waiting to seize the opportunity.
“We knew what Erling could do before he arrived because he did the job a few years before joining us, in Norway, Austria and Germany,” he added. "We watched him and we played against him, but you never know when he gets here what level he can reach. "But what he's done so far this season has been fantastic and we're really happy to have him around. He's definitely a special player and he's helped us. I'm very much. Hope he can still improve."
His team-mate is exceptional, Silva believes Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe, 24, and perhaps Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, 22, can develop an exciting and terrifying rivalry in the future. . Messi and Ronaldo.
“Probably yes,” said Silva, who played with France captain Mbappe at Monaco before joining City in 2017. “You have a few players outside of them (Haaland and Mbappe) who are doing very well, like Vinicius. But it is true that these two are very young and are doing very well.
Silva says that aside from their shared desire to score, Haaland and Mbappe are two very different players in style.
“Kylian is more about dribbling and Haaland is mostly in the box and looks like a real striker, but both are very, very good at what they do,” he said. "It won't be easy to fit in
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