Gerard Pique rates one Manchester City player very highly but thinks he’s still ‘far away’ from reaching the level of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are now approaching the end of their remarkable careers and have left European football to wind down elsewhere.
Messi is at Inter Miami in the MLS while Ronaldo has been with Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr since early last year.
But at their peaks, the pair reached incredible heights previously never seen as they absolutely dominated the sport.
Either Ronaldo or Messi have been the best player in the world over the last 15 years, having won 13 of the last 15 Ballon d’Ors between them.
That duopoly will likely be broken for good in 2024 and Erling Haaland will be one of the stars in contention for the award.
The Manchester City striker finished second in 2023 and has continued to score goals at a sensational rate.
However, Gerard Pique thinks he’s not even close to Messi or Ronaldo just yet.
Gerard Pique on Erling Haaland
Speaking to TalkSPORT, Pique said: “I think he has a lot of potential but to arrive at the level of Messi and Cristiano, it’s a long way to go.
“He has to win so many titles, he has to do this for 15, 17, 20 years and this is not easy also.
“He’s very young, very promising and he has a lot of potential but still I think he’s far away from those two.”
Erling Haaland injury latest
City and Haaland won’t be too concerned by personal accolades as long as his goals continue to earn City trophies.
The Norwegian sensation has 29 strikes to his name so far this season with the Blues still in a position to win a back-to-back treble.
Pep Guardiola’s side have a massive match in the Premier League title race following the international break as they meet leaders Arsenal.
City have already lost to The Gunners this season and they will need to ensure it doesn’t happen again or they risk being cut adrift from the top.
There is now concern over Haaland’s fitness for the match after the 23-year-old was spotted limping out of Norway training on Tuesday.
However, Norway’s doctor, via journalist Sam Lee, told TV2 it was ‘no problem.’ City will be keeping everything crossed.