Pep Guardiola Shocks Football World by Placing Haaland Alongside Messi and Ronaldo After Bournemouth Demolition

Pep Guardiola has declared that Erling Haaland is currently operating at the same elite standard as prime Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo following the Manchester City forward's 17th strike of the campaign in just 13 appearances.

Following fitness challenges during the previous season and witnessing his scoring numbers decline in consecutive years after his phenomenal inaugural season with City in 2022–23, Haaland appears to have rediscovered his finest form in the opening three months of this new campaign.

His 13 Premier League strikes, including the final two during Sunday's 3–1 triumph against Bournemouth, already exceeds half of his complete total (22) in the division last term with 28 matches remaining.

City's second-highest Premier League goalscorer this season is surprisingly Maxime Estève, who represents Burnley and contributed two own goals when the clubs clashed in September. No other City squad member has found the net more than once in league play—Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Matheus Nunes and Nico O'Reilly each have a single goal.

This has sparked discussions about potential over-dependence on Haaland for goals, but Guardiola maintained after the Bournemouth match that it's completely understandable when one player is delivering Messi-like performances.

"The previous match we contested without him against Swansea and netted three goals," the City manager noted, referring to last week's Carabao Cup success when the Norwegian was omitted due to a slight fitness issue—he likely would have been rested regardless.

"It's similar to having Messi or Ronaldo in your team, their impact is enormous," Guardiola continued. "Naturally, we require goals from Phil, Tijjani and the others who created opportunities. You observe [Haaland's] statistics? Certainly he's at that standard.

"The distinction is Messi and Ronaldo maintained it for 15 years, but this represents that caliber. The opening goal [versus Bournemouth], his striking technique, it's like 'I will find the target.' He possesses that desire. It's exceptional. I've mentioned repeatedly how remarkably coachable and adaptable he is.

"I can be demanding with him at times, but he remains receptive. He exists for scoring and occasionally the intensity cannot be maintained for 90 minutes, but that's expected. Without him it would be challenging honestly, but we're fortunate that Omar [Marmoush] has returned, and we have healthy players, which is positive."

How Many Goals Will Erling Haaland Score This Season?

Haaland currently possesses the record for most goals in a single Premier League campaign—he accumulated 36 during the 2022–23 season. At his present scoring pace in 2025–26, he could realistically become the first player in Premier League history to surpass 40 goals in one season. With an average of 1.3 goals per match through 10 appearances thus far, Haaland might even approach 50.

Throughout the complete 137-year history of English top division football, only nine players have ever netted 40 or more league goals in a single campaign. All except one occurred during the inter-war period (1918–1939) when greater emphasis was placed on attacking play and teams league-wide scored more frequently. However, the most recent achievement was Jimmy Greaves (41) for Chelsea in 1960–61, 64 years past.

Nevertheless, even Haaland's remarkable production isn't expected to threaten Dixie Dean's all-time single season league record, which remains at the 60 goals he netted for Everton during 1927–28. Tom 'Pongo' Waring's 49 for Aston Villa in 1930–31, second on the historical list, could face a challenge, however.

Across all tournaments, Haaland's career-high total to this point is 52 from 2022–23. City will contest at least 35 additional matches between the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and probably several more if they advance in Europe and domestic competitions as anticipated. If he can maintain this form, which is demanding but the genuine test for Messi/Ronaldo standards, his current average production (also 1.3 across all competitions) could generate 62, considering only remaining confirmed fixtures.

All-Time Single Season Top League Scorers in English Football