From the moment Erling Haaland stepped onto the pitch for Manchester City, he instantly propelled his name amongst the best players in the world.
So much so that recently, Rodri claimed Haaland is better than Lionel Messi currently.
Pep Guardiola compared Haaland to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of being staggeringly productive like the legendary pair.
After his latest strike in Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion, Haaland became the fastest player to score 75 goals in Premier League history — with Squawka revealing he reached the feat in 77 games and usurped Alan Shearer, who hit the same figure so in 93 outings.
The Manchester City marksman is well and truly a special goalscorer and in this regard, he might already be considered as one of the best of the best.
Haaland’s place amongst the league’s greatest-ever strikers is a topic that will garner a multitude of opinions.
Didier Drogba says Fernando Torres was better than Erling Haaland
The Premier League has been fortunate enough to provide a platform for some of the greatest number nines to have not just graced English football but across the history of the game.
Names such as Sergio Aguero, Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer and Andy Cole instantly spring to mind.
Speaking to GOAL, when asked which player is the superior striker between Haaland or Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba sided with his former Chelsea teammate.
Drogba replied: “Okay, teammate.”
The Ivorian was quizzed whether he was sure about his answer as well.
The four-time Premier League winner said: “Of course!”
Here is a comparison of Haaland and Fernando Torres’ respective goal tallies across all competitions for Manchester City and Chelsea respectively.
| COMPETITION | HAALAND’S GOALS AT MAN CITY | TORRES’ GOALS AT CHELSEA |
| PREMIER LEAGUE | 75 | 20 |
| CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | 21 | 10 |
| FA CUP | 8 | 3 |
| CARABAO CUP | 1 | 3 |
| EUROPA LEAGUE | – | 6 |
| CLUB WORLD CUP | – | 1 |
| SUPER CUP | – | 1 |
| TOTAL | 105 | 44 |
The Norwegian’s goal tally in the league (75) alone surpassed that of the retired Spaniard’s in all competitions (44) at Chelsea.
However, Didier Drogba may well have been unable to look past the fact that Fernando Torres was his teammate at Stamford Bridge.
De Bruyne claimed Haaland is a more “prolific striker” than Torres
In September, Kevin De Bruyne hailed Haaland by naming him as the “most prolific striker” he has ever played with over Torres — who he also shared the pitch with at Chelsea.
“All around, maybe Kun [Aguero] but it depends on what you talk about. Erling [Haaland] is the most prolific striker I’ve played with.
“I’ve played with really good strikers like Kun, Samuel Eto’o, Fernando Torres, there’s some good guys. It’s hard to compare but the stats speak for themselves. He’s started the season on fire and let’s hope he maintains it.”
As per TNT Sports, Fernando Torres netted 81 goals in total for Liverpool — where he was at the peak of his powers.
However, Haaland has surpassed Torres’ goal record in a Liverpool shirt as well.
As a result, it is difficult to look past the treble-winner as a better number nine than the Atletico Madrid B manager.
