Guardiola: Lionel Messi, not Erling Haaland, is ‘most incredible forward I have ever seen’

Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick in Manchester City’s 4-1 thrashing of Ipswich Town on Saturday, bringing his goal tally for the season up to four in two matches and his total number of Premier League goals up to 67 in 68 appearances. He’s not only on track to be the most prolific goalscorer in Premier League history; he’s well on his way to becoming one of the greatest goalscorers of all time.

For now, though, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has no doubts about who he thinks is the best center forward of all time is: Lionel Messi.

“The most incredible forward I have ever seen is Messi — I’ve never said something like that,” Guardiola told beIN SPORTS on Saturday when asked if Haaland is the “most complete” center forward he’s ever seen.

[Related: Man City manager compares Erling Haaland to Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo]

Messi scored 211 goals in 219 matches under Guardiola at FC Barcelona and recorded 94 assists. He’s still Barcelona’s all-time leading goalscorer and the top goalscorer in La Liga history with 474 goals; Cristiano Ronaldo is second with 311 goals.

Haaland hasn’t reached the statistical peaks that the likes of Messi and Ronaldo have yet, but Guardiola thinks his star striker already has a strong case as a legendary goalscorer. 

“The numbers with Erling are unbelievable,” Guardiola said. “I think he can sit at the table, in terms of scoring goals, with Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Messi, that’s for sure.”

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