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Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have maintained an unparalleled duopoly in football over the last two decades, but Erling Haaland has started to challenge their dominance with his remarkable numbers.
According to statistics by Give Me Sport, Erling Haaland has scored more goals than both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at the age of 24 for club and country. The Norwegian striker is also ahead of both Ronaldo and Messi in number of individual honors won at the age of 24.
Many would argue whether numbers are enough to match the dominance of the Portuguese and Argentine icons. But Haaland's is certainly a remarkable achievement, especially with fewer overall appearances than both Messi and Ronaldo.
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Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at 24: Goals, Assists and Individual Honors Compared
No. of goals: Erling Haaland leads the pack
Haaland is dominant here, but it is worth noting that he has primarily played as a center forward in his career so far while both Ronaldo and Messi played as wingers at his age.
As an out-and-out goal poacher, the Norwegian has also been lucky at Manchester City to find some great support in the midfield and attack. Nonetheless, his numbers are worthy of applause.
Assists: Lionel Messi surpasses Ronaldo and Haaland
It is hard to beat Lionel Messi when it comes to assists, as the Argentine is widely considered the greatest playmaker of all time. At 24, he had 84 assists overall, while Ronaldo had 66 and Erling Haaland 54.
As a center forward, it is not surprising that Haaland falls behind when it comes to assists compared to both Messi and Ronaldo. Even at the age of 24, Messi would often drop deep into the Barcelona midfield and help in the build-up of their attack.
Moreover, the Blaugrana at that time had attacking powerhouses like Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o, who would convert his crosses into goals more often than not.
Individual Honors: Erling Haaland tops the list once again
In terms of individual honors, Erling Haaland leads the pack with 11, compared to Messi's eight and Cristiano Ronaldo's seven. Haaland has been the lead scorer in almost every tournament he has played since he arrived at Manchester City. Pep Guardiola has used him as the target man for the world-class midfield of his team.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo didn't have such an explosive start to their careers. But they kept getting better, eventually winning a host of awards to take them to the absolute top of the world.
