If there is a figure in football who understands the magnitude of the genius that is Lionel Messi, it is none other than Pep Guardiola.
After all, it was Guardiola who helped the Argentine turn into one of the most devastatingly complete players in world football upon his appointment as Barcelona boss in 2008.
While Messi was the protagonist in the Catalan’s boyhood club becoming the best team on the planet and one of the greatest in the history of the game.
It was recently revealed that Manchester City almost signed Messi after he expressed his desire to leave Barcelona in favour of a move of a reunion with Pep Guardiola in 2020.
In December 2022, the Manchester City boss claimed via Sky Sports that in his view, the World Cup winner is the greatest player of all time.
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Guardiola makes Messi comparison to Haaland after Man City beat Chelsea
While Messi is considered by Guardiola as a player who is well and truly in a league of his own, there remain aspects of his game that can be likened to others.
Ultimately, the current breed of players would justifiably dream of replicating the Inter Miami forward in some way, shape or form.
Especially since winning the World Cup with Argentina two years ago, the former Paris Saint-Germain attacker’s status amongst the pantheon of all-time greats seems to have gone up in the masses’ estimations.
After being informed that with his strike against Chelsea, Erling Haaland has scored 91 goals for Manchester City in 100 games across all competitions, Pep Guardiola likened his goalscoring numbers to that of Messi.
Guardiola said about the £51 million man via HaytersTV: “He has the numbers like [Lionel] Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo. They controlled the last decade, 15 years, absolutely everything and in terms of numbers, he’s that level.”
“I don’t know he does it but scoring 100 games, 91 goals is something, in the Premier League, you know that, in this country is unbelievable.”
Haaland considers Messi as the greatest player of all time and as a result, Guardiola’s reaction to his staggering statistic would be one that he appreciates.
Erling Haaland is truly a one-of-a-kind goalscorer
The 24-year-old’s latest statistic is a reminder of the fact that he is a once-in-a-generation goalscorer.
The fact that Pep Guardiola is happy to liken Haaland to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of his goalscoring ability just goes to show how uniquely gifted he is in this respect.
The Norwegian international is well and truly a goal machine and it will be fascinating to witness whether he can outscore the two legendary forwards at club level.
Haaland certainly has the capability to end his career as a legendary goalscorer and he perhaps will have his sights set on breaking such incredible goalscorers’ records.
