Erling Haaland put in exclusive Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo-chasing club - with Man City striker looking to emulate GOATs

Argentine icon Messi and Portuguese superstar Ronaldo are not finished yet, with both prepared to delay retirement for as long as possible. The former has committed to a contract extension through 2028 at MLS Cup winners Inter Miami, while the latter is - at 40 years of age - working on a new two-year deal in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr.

Both are expected to grace next summer’s World Cup with their respective nations. Messi has stopped short of confirming his involvement, but should make a global title defence, while Ronaldo has reached 226 caps and 143 goals for his country. He continues to don the captain’s armband for Portugal.

Neither can go on forever, with former Premier League goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer - who faced CR7 during his first spell at Manchester United - giving his take on where two all-time greats stand and who is ready to follow in their record-shattering footsteps.

Schwarzer told Joe Fortune: “Sometimes you look at it and go, is Cristiano Ronaldo a guaranteed starter for Portugal every time? At the moment, it seems like he is, but I don't know whether he still should be.

“Look, his records are phenomenal. His transition from a wide player to a striker, his goalscoring record is just insane, as is Lionel Messi's. Messi's continuous dominance in that number 10 role created midfield play. Goals he scored, probably fewer goals these days, but still involvements, match involvements, key moments in games still right up there. I think they are two phenomenal players and will go down as two of the greats to have ever played a game of football. So we're talking about two phenomenal players.

“When I played against Cristiano Ronaldo, he was at the sort of beginning of his career at Manchester United. And people talk about him as being this world-class player that played in the Premier League. I disagree. I think he was a top-class player and he was growing. He was growing into the player he became when he went to Madrid, because he wasn't the same player. When he went to Madrid, that's when he grew into that superstar for me, personally.

“I thought he was a top-class player at Man United for the last 6 months to 12 months. But before that, I thought he was just a huge talent, and a brilliant player, but not the superstar that we knew or saw how they go on to be.

“They're two very different players and two players that have changed games themselves, single-handedly, time and time again. The records that they've achieved probably, I can't say never be broken, but I mean, they can look at players like Erling Haaland, what he's doing, but it's going to take some doing to break them.”

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Haaland has previously sought to distance himself from any comparisons to Messi and Ronaldo. Having seen what they have achieved over the course of 20-plus years at the very highest level - with 13 Ballons d’Or secured between them - it would be foolish to imagine scaling such heights.

Asked if he occupies a similar talent pool, City’s talismanic No.9 has said: “No, not at all, far off. No-one can get close to them, so no.” He added when asked if he concerns himself with entries in the history books as the likes of Messi and Ronaldo are eclipsed: “I can't think about records I can break. That's the last thing I think of. I try to help the team win football games. That's my job and that's my main focus. I know it's boring, I know you want me to say the complete opposite, but it's not how it is.”

Ronaldo won a second Golden Boot with Al-Nassr last season, while Messi landed the same award with Inter Miami in 2025. Haaland has finished as the Premier League’s leading scorer in two of his three campaigns in Manchester and has raced to 17 efforts in the English top flight this season while also firing Norway to World Cup qualification - with 36 goals being recorded through just 27 domestic and international appearances.