Zlatan Ibrahimovic has claimed that Kylian Mbappe is a more complete striker than Manchester City star Erling Haaland.
The two attackers are in the running to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski among others.
With both strikers finding themselves on the goalsheet fairly regularly so far this season, one former striker has shared his thoughts on the duo and what the differences are between them.
Ibrahimovic assesses Mbappe and Haaland
Speaking in a recent interview with Piers Morgan (via talkSPORT), Ibrahimovic had this to say about Haaland and Mbappe.
He said: “Mbappe is more of a complete player, he can do more things than Haaland. He can do the unexpected, he will do things that you will react ‘wow’.
“He reminds me of Ronaldo the Brazilian and he will do things that other ones can’t do. Can he get better? Yes, he can get better, much, much better. He just needs to focus on football, that’s the only thing he needs to do.”
With a combined total of 422 senior club goals between them, it’s undeniable that Haaland and Mbappe are two of Europe’s top attacking talents around right now.
However, with the 24-year-old making more key passes (10 vs 8), shot-creating actions (25 vs 14), progressive carries (23 vs 4) and successful take-ons (12 vs 2), this backs up Ibrahimovic’s point about the Paris Saint-Germain star being a more complete player than the Norway international, who is classic number nine in terms of his playing style.
Despite that, given the number of goals that Haaland has already scored during his short time at the Etihad Stadium, we feel that not many City supporters will be interested in seeing comparisons between him and Mbappe or anyone else.
Moving forward, regardless of who wins the next Ballon d’Or, if the City striker can replicate the same sort of goalscoring prowess he showed throughout his debut campaign once again, he’ll find himself winning even more silverware.
