Lothar Matthaus has said that Erling Haaland is better than former Borussia Dortmund teammate Jude Bellingham.
The legendary midfielder claimed that Haaland has been the best player in the world in 2023 while speaking to Sky Sports.
Lothar Matthaus says Erling Haaland is better than Jude Bellingham
Alan Shearer recently claimed that if given the choice to play alongside either Kevin De Bruyne or the Englishman, he would still side with the five-time Premier League winner.
Since signing for Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the summer, the 20-year-old has set the world alight, scoring 17 goals and registering five assists in all competitions. As a result, many understandably believe that Bellingham is the best player in the world currently.
“Who do you think has been the best player this year? Harry Kane or Jude Bellingham?”, Matthaus was asked.
Lothar Matthaus responded by picking Manchester City striker Erling Haaland over Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and even Lionel Messi.
“Or maybe Erling Haaland? When you see in 2023, the titles Haaland won with Man City and how he scored in England, for me, the best player in 2023 was not [Lionel] Messi. [Jude] Bellingham made a great shock in Dortmund and Madrid but he didn’t win titles in 2023 and Haaland won everything with Man City, he’s a special player and the best player for me in 2023, Erling Haaland.”
Erling Haaland has outperformed his former teammate so far
Lothar Matthaus is bang on the money and even putting the year, 2023 aside, Erling Haaland is a superior player to Jude Bellingham.
While the latter arguably hit world-class standards for the first time in his career in the 2022/2023 season, Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 games for Manchester City while emerging as the side’s main man in their treble-winning campaign.
The same cannot be said for Jude Bellingham, whose Borussia Dortmund side failed to win a single trophy in the previous campaign.
Bellingham is flying currently but the season is far from over.
Erling Haaland finished only behind Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or rankings and has already delivered one of the greatest individual seasons in recent memory while winning almost every piece of silverware there is to win at club level.
The Stourbridge-born midfielder has a long way to go before he can be put on the same pedestal as the Norwegian international.
