"He’s worried about his record" - Gary Lineker aims cheeky dig at Alan Shearer after Erling Haaland signed new deal with Manchester City

Gary Lineker couldn’t resist taking a light-hearted jab at Alan Shearer following Erling Haaland's long-term contract extension with Manchester City. The former England striker hinted that Shearer might be nervously eyeing his Premier League all-time goalscoring record as Haaland continues his meteoric rise.

Erling Haaland recently committed his future to Manchester City by signing a nine-and-a-half-year deal, keeping him at the club until 2034. With an astonishing 80 goals in just 88 Premier League appearances, the prolific Norwegian striker appears well on track to surpass Shearer’s record of 260 goals.

Given his phenomenal scoring rate and consistency, the extension significantly boosts Haaland's chances of becoming the Premier League's all-time leading scorer.

During a recent BBC Match of the Day episode, Lineker humorously addressed Shearer's potential concerns about the Newcastle legend's absence from the panel. Referring to Newcastle's 4-1 loss to Bournemouth on the same day, Lineker quipped:

"Bad day for Alan Shearer with Newcastle getting hammered."

When asked if Shearer had been in touch, Lineker cheekily added:

"No, particularly since Haaland signed a nine-and-a-half-year contract. He’s worried about his record."

Meanwhile, Alan Shearer had insisted that Erling Haaland could break his longstanding record should the Manchester City striker complete the period on his new contract. He further added that his record would be broken one day, naming Harry Kane or Mohamed Salah as the other players who would do it apart from Haaland.

Can Manchester City’s Erling Haaland break Alan Shearer’s record?

In the aftermath of Erling Haaland’s recent contract extension with Manchester City, speculations are rife as to whether the Norway international can surpass Alan Shearer’s EPL all-time goalscoring record.

Haaland has been a threat to EPL defenders since he joined City in 2022. His debut season saw him score the most goals in a single Premier League season (36 goals). He picked up his goalscoring form the following season as he topped the charts with 27 goals.

However, his goalscoring form has declined this season, which coincided with City’s poor run of form. Up to date, Haaland has played 88 Premier League games in 2.5 seasons and scored 80 goals for City. Alan Shearer, on the other hand, played 441 Premier League games in 14 Premier League seasons and scored 260 goals.

Going by the abovementioned data, Haaland currently has a goal-per-game ratio of 0.90 while Shearer has a game-per-game ratio of 0.58.

According to Opta, if Haaland maintains his current ratio of 0.90 per game, he would equal Shearer’s goalscoring record in his 287th game. If the Manchester City striker can keep up his scoring rate and play the next successive league games, he could break the record in game 32 of the 2029-30 season.