Erling Haaland drops Cristiano Ronaldo, Pele and Ronaldo Nazario to the bench as he picks interesting EA FC 24 Ultimate Team XI

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland decided to drop Brazilan legend Ronaldo Nazario and Cristiano Ronaldo to the bench in his EA FC 24 ultimate team.

Instead of going with either Real Madrid Icon, the Norway international paired himself with cousin Jonatan Braut Brunes up front. He decided to deploy Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe and another Brazilian legend, Ronaldinho, on either wing.

Ronaldo Nazario enjoyed a stellar career, representing top European sides like Los Blancos, their Spanish rivals Barcelona, and Italian giants Inter Milan. He scored 298 goals in his senior club career from 455 appearances across competitions, winning La Liga and the Ballon d'Or twice, among other honors.

The 47-year-old ex-striker appeared 99 times for Brazil, during which he scored 62 goals and won the World Cup twice (1994, 2002). Sharing a screenshot of his team via Instagram stories, Haaland captioned the post:

"Sorry @ronaldo have to drop you for my cousin @jonatanbrunes."

Brunes is a Norwegian striker who plies his trade in the Belgian first tier for OH Leuven. This season, he's bagged three goals and an assist from 13 league appearances.

Although Haaland was quick to apologize to the Brazilian great, other notable personalities failed to make it to his side. The aforementioned Al-Nassr striker, Pele, and Wayne Rooney were all left out.

Haaland decided to include Cityzens teammate Kyle Walker at right-back, a player with whom he has shared the pitch 55 times. The pair won the treble under Pep Guardiola last season.

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Erling Haaland lavishes praise on Cristiano Ronaldo's goal-scoring ability

Cristiano Ronaldo (via Getty Images)

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland recently lavished praise on Cristiano Ronaldo's movement inside the box and his lethal goal-scoring prowess. The Portugal captain has scored an incredible 734 goals in his senior club career and has already bagged 33 goals for his new club Al-Nassr in 40 matches.

Talking to Norwegian media channel TV2, the Norwegian said (via Goal):

"It is incredible for him that he (Cristiano Ronaldo) manages. But also how he scores the goals. It is the small movements in the box, and being able to deceive the defenders."

Ronaldo has been in tremendous form this season, having found the net 19 times in 21 matches across all competitions. He's likely to feature for Al-Nassr when they face Al-Shabab in the King Cup of Champions quarter-final tomorrow (December 11).