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Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola named Lionel Messi as the most complete center forward in history over Erling Haaland. Guardiola's side recorded a 4-1 win over Ipswich Town at home on Saturday (August 24) in the Premier League with Haaland scoring a hattrick.
In the post-match press conference, BeIN Sports asked Guardiola whether the Norwegian striker was the most complete center forward he's seen in football. However, the Catalan coach preferred Lionel Messi instead (via Fabrizio Romano).
Interviewer:
"Is he [Erling Haaland] the most complete centre forward we have ever seen in this game?"
Guardiola:
"The most complete centre forward ever seen is Lionel Messi."
Pep Guardiola coached Messi between 2008 and 2012 when he served as the Barcelona manager. The Catalan coach's decision to play Messi as a false nine at Barca is considered one of the best tactical decisions in football.
Together, the duo won numerous trophies. The include two UEFA Champions League titles, three La Ligas, two Copa Del Reys, three Supercopa de Espanas, two Club World Cups, and two European Super Cups.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland has also been performing well under Guardiola. They have won two Premier Leagues, one UEFA Champions League, and one FA Cup together. Haaland also won the Premier League Golden Boot in two consecutive seasons since joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
When Pep Guardiola believed Erling Haaland could break Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's records
Pep Guardiola recently claimed that Erling Haaland can break both Messi and Ronaldo's goal-scoring records.
"He did it in Salzburg and in Germany; the numbers are ridiculous. "He can compete in terms of goals with Cristiano and Messi. The numbers are unbelievable at his age. He's an incredible threat, hopefully he can be here for many years," the Manchester City boss said via ESPN.
Erling Haaland has been unstoppable since joining City in 2022. The forward recorded 94 goals and 14 assists in 101 appearances for the Sky Blues across competitions. In the Premier League alone, he scored 67 goals in 68 appearances for Guardiola's side.
By the age of 24, Lionel Messi had 197 goals and 84 assists in 326 appearances for club and country with ten hattricks. It averages to 0.60 goals per game. La Pulga also won La Liga Pichichi (top scorer) once in the 2009-10 season and the European Golden Shoe at age 24 in 2011.
He had also won five La Liga titles with Barcelona and two UEFA Champions League titles (per the UEFA website) by then. He was also the recipient of three Ballon d'Ors at Haaland's age (as of now).
Despite Messi's impressive collection of silver, Erling Haaland doesn't seem far behind in terms of trophies. It remains to be seen whether he's able to compete with the Argentine in terms of goals or trophies later in his career.
