Erling Haaland has been backed to outdo Man Utd hero Cristiano Ronaldo’s unbelievable 2007-2008 campaign. Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or in 2008 following a sensational season with the Red Devils in which he scored 31 goals in 34 league appearances and picked up Premier League and Champions League winners’ medals.
As of right now, Haaland looks set to supersede CR7’s achievements having already passed his goal tally and could one-up the Portuguese star’s double with a sensational treble in a Manchester City shirt. The Sky Blues have a foothold on the Premier League title race after beating league leaders Arsenal last week which closed the gap at the top down to two points with a couple of games in hand.
Pep Guardiola’s men are also through to the semi-finals of the Champions League after a 4-1 aggregate win over Bayern Munich in the quarters and the final of the FA Cup against United. Haaland has been the beating heart behind City’s successes this year, scoring 49 goals in all competitions during his debut season for the side.
And teammate Bernardo Silva sees a lot of similarities between the Norwegian goal machine and Ronaldo on the pitch. He believes Haaland shares the same insatiable hunger for goals as the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Erling Haaland has 49 goals this season (Image: GETTY)
He said: “I hope Erling wins the Ballon d’Or because he’s not just a good player, but a very good guy. And I hope that he wins this year – because that means we win the Premier League and the Champions League.
“I am cheering for him. Erling and Cristiano are different personalities. They are very different guys. But on the pitch, I think you can find a few similarities.
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Cristiano Ronaldo has won five Ballon d’Ors (Image: GETTY)
“When he’s in the box, Erling has that hunger to score goals – and Cristiano has it as well. When the ball is close to the goal, he’s always there and he’s got that ability to sniff out where the ball will drop.
“Cristiano is also like that – and that’s the similarity. Apart from that, they are different players and different people. But that hunger of wanting to score and score and score, to help the team, they are very similar.”
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