After his spectacular performance against RB Leipzig on Wednesday, Manchester City defender John Stones predicted that his colleague Erling Haaland will surpass Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s previous records in the UEFA Champions League.
With 39 goals this past season, Haaland just surpassed Man City’s long-standing record for the most goals scored in a single season.
In Man City’s 7-0 triumph over RB Leipzig in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, the Norwegian international scored five goals.
After just 25 Champions League appearances, he has now scored 33 goals.
Yet Stones thinks that Haaland has a chance to surpass the amazing goalscoring achievements of Messi and Ronaldo, who have scored 129 and 140 goals in Europe’s top club league, respectively.
How can I approach this without pressuring Erling? When questioned about Haaland imitating Ronaldo and Messi in the Champions League, Stones responded through Mirror Football.
He would undoubtedly prosper from it. With his drive, attitude, and professionalism, I really believe he is capable of achieving his goals, and I would dearly want to see him succeed.
“I believe he just wants to win. Such mindset, in my opinion, makes receiving personal accolades effortless and unnecessary. While I might be completely wrong, I believe Erling is a great team player and is headed in that direction to achieve more records.
