On the eve of the clash between Manchester City and his former club Dortmund, Erling Haaland presented himself at a press conference, true to his image: calm, direct, without embellishments. Asked about the pressure of comparisons with the two giants of modern football, the Norwegian took the time to think before releasing an unexpected answer. A statement that surprised both journalists and supporters.
Haaland refuses the comparison
Far from placing himself in the lineage of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Haaland felt that these comparisons were “unfair”. “No one can get close to them,” he confided with humility. No false modesty, simply the lucidity of a player aware of how far he has come, but also of the distance that still separates him from the legends. For him, it is not a question of “catching up” with anyone, but of “continuing to score, to progress, to be Erling”.
During this conference, Haaland also spoke about his relationship with time. “I live in the present. Yesterday’s match is in the past,” he summarized. A philosophy that says a lot about his mental rigor. Asked about his records, he even quipped: “What record? » before reminding that only the next match mattered. This lucidity, combined with an exemplary work ethic, explains why Pep Guardiola describes him as “incredibly humble”.
A perfectionist in search of progress
Always looking for improvement, Haaland admitted that he has been working on his heading game “every week” since his time at Molde under Ole Gunnar Solskjær. “We can always do better,” he insisted. This perfectionist mentality contrasts with his image of a goal machine. Behind the “robot”, there is a human competitor, focused and methodical.
By refusing the game of comparisons, Haaland is charting his own path. He admires Messi and Ronaldo, but without imitating them. For him, greatness does not lie in results, but in consistency. And as long as he continues to score without getting lost in the debates, the Norwegian will remain faithful to his credo: simply being Erling.
