Jamie Carragher says Man City ace has been the Premier League’s best player this decade – not Erling Haaland

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Erling Haaland has stamped his authority over the Premier League in a way that any player coming from a foreign league would only dream of.

So much so that Rodri feels Haaland has surpassed Lionel Messi as the best player in the world at this moment in time.

Making a habit of setting, replicating and breaking records in a Manchester City shirt, Haaland is on track to win three Golden Boots in a row — a feat only Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry have accomplished — with 12 goals in 11 Premier League games as the competition’s current top goalscorer.

With Haaland close to signing a new two-year contract until 2029 at City, as per a revelation in September, his era of dominance as the division’s best striker could continue for several more seasons.

The Manchester City marksman will especially have to rise to the occasion during the first few weeks of the return of club football — with his side set to play several testing fixtures.

Haaland’s goals will be relied upon as Pep Guardiola’s men line up against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Manchester United in their next five games.

• READ MORE: Who is Erling Haaland? Step into the world of Man City’s record-crushing goal machine

De Bruyne named as Premier League’s best player this decade over Haaland

Based on the fact that the Norwegian international has already scored crucial goals against Chelsea and Arsenal this season, he would be confident heading into the outings against the ‘Big Six’ teams out of the bunch in particular.

Since heading to the Etihad Stadium, the Leeds-born number nine has shown time and again that he thrives when there is added pressure on his shoulders.

In Jamie Carragher’s view, however, Kevin De Bruyne has been the best player in the Premier League this decade and not Haaland.

Carragher said on The Overlap’s Stick To Football: “If I could change [my pick for the best player in the 2010s], I would go [Kevin] De Bruyne for this one because I think this has been De Bruyne’s time, the last four years I think.”

Gary Neville said: “I’d go [Erling] Haaland in this period, in these four years, suppose he wasn’t there all these four years.”

Jamie Carragher replied: “Haaland?” and proceeded to shake his head.

Neville retorted: “I just think winning the treble, that season where he scored all them goals.”

The Liverpool legend has always been a huge admirer of the Belgian’s.

In May, Carragher praised De Bruyne as the second-greatest foreign player to ever play in the Premier League after Thierry Henry — claiming he has surpassed the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Dennis Bergkamp, Eric Cantona, Gianfranco Zola and David Silva.

Jamie Carragher lauded De Bruyne once again in February by stating that he is a guaranteed fixture in an all-time Premier League XI.

Erling Haaland vs Kevin De Bruyne stats amid Carragher claim

Roy Keane and Ian Wright hailed De Bruyne as the league’s best player in the previous decade.

However, as Haaland has arguably become the division’s biggest superstar since his arrival in 2022, here is a comparison of their statistics in the league since both players have been at the same club.

Based on both players’ respective league starts since 2022, there is no disputing that the star striker has been far more reliable in this City side.

However, it is also important to take a look at De Bruyne’s statistics in the 2020/2021 and 2021/22 campaigns where he was hugely influential in the first two of Manchester City’s four successive title wins.

With 32 goals and 49 assists in 95 starts for the Sky Blues since 2020 while winning four league titles in a row, it would be difficult to write Jamie Carragher’s argument off.

However, Haaland’s ascendancy as City’s biggest match-winner since 2022 is also worth taking into account.