Erling Haalnd can reach 800 career goals if he carries on at his phenomenal scoring rate – according to Manchester City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne.
Haaland, who has 24 goals from 19 games for City this season following his £51million move from Borussia Dortmund, already has 224 for club and country at just 23. De Bruyne, who has provided a chunk of assists for Haaland this season, reckons the Norway star can hit the same high goal numbers as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi has 791 career goals, while Ronaldo holds the all-time record with 819, but De Bruyne is convinced Haaland can potentially set a new record total in the years ahead.
“It's very hard to compare strikers because they are all totally different,” said De Bruyne. “They play in the same position, but some are physical players, some are speed demons and they can all score goals for fun.
“Erling hasn’t because of his age, but they have all scored 300 or 400 goals. Erling is so obsessed with goals, he can maybe go beyond that. He already has about 200 goals, so he can probably go to 600, 700 or 800 if he stays fit and does the things that he does.
“I don’t see Erling as different to a lot of people. He's a normal football player like everybody else and he doesn’t take himself too seriously. When you talk about professional footballers or professional athletes, I think everybody has that little edge. I don’t think you can become a professional player if you don’t have that little something to become the best version you can be.
“He's still a young boy enjoying his life and he takes his football very seriously. He loves scoring goals, so I think that's the most unique thing he has. Erling is a top-level striker. I don’t think it is fair to compare or rank strikers, because some are at the start of their career and some are at the end or the middle of their careers, so I don’t like to rank them.”
One striker De Bruyne is convinced will also be a huge star for City over the coming years is newly-crowned World Cup winner Julian Alvarez, who played a key role in Argentina's triumph in Qatar. Alvarez has had to be patient for starts since arriving at City in the summer, given Haaland's exploits, but De Bruyne believes the 22-year-old will prove his enduring worth over time.
“I think when he came into the club they were speaking about this young talent from Argentina and at the beginning we saw that he was a really talented player,” said De Bruyne. “You don’t know what will happen when players come from South America, but he already seemed like an adult player playing for us.
“I'm happy for him, he's a really nice guy and really shy. But he can call himself a world champion, so he will feel great. “I think he's settled in really well. Maybe he felt he could have played a little bit more, but the more the season has gone on, the more and more he has played. He's actually scored quite a few goals.
“His English is not that bad and coming from Argentina to England is a whole different world, so I think he's adapted really well and he's happy here also. I'm happy for him.”
