The days of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are coming to an end, but Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are two young players who have truly emerged to take their position as generation-defining athletes.
The fact that the two players play for two of the top teams in Europe suggests that they will be dominant in football for many years to come.
Mbappe made his debut a few years ahead of Haaland, capturing the public’s attention during Monaco’s incredible journey to the Champions League semifinals and 2016–17 title success as a teenager. Since then, he has lifted the World Cup, helped PSG win four Ligue 1 titles in five years, and been extremely productive for the Parisians.
Haaland is 18 months younger but was being talked up as one to watch as a youth prospect. Word was spreading of Alf-Inge Haaland’s son and how he managed three hat-tricks in one game against Honduras’ Under-20s and he’s more than living up to that early hype.
He’s since risen through the ranks at Molde, Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund. He now looks on track to absolutely smash all manner of goalscoring records as the focal point of Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Manchester City.
The seeds of a new rivalry were sewn back in March 2020 when PSG knocked Haaland’s Dortmund out of the Champions League and celebrated by imitating the Norwegian’s ‘zen’ pose celebration.
The two players haven’t been shy about speaking one another when reporters have asked them about the potentially era-defining rivalry.
“When I saw Mbappe score the hat trick, I got free motivation, so thanks to him,” Haaland said of Mbappe’s hat trick against Barcelona in February 2021 – before going on to bag a brace against Sevilla.
“He gave me a free boost and scored some really nice goals.” Thus, yes, it was pleasant.
Thierry Henry, a former forward for Arsenal and Barcelona, is currently supporting Mbappe over Haaland in the discussion.
“Mbappe is an accomplished creator. Haaland is not a creator. The Frenchman told CBS Sports, “He finishes.”
Mbappe can play both left and right. He is a capable centre player. Haaland is limited to playing center field.
They were able to win the Champions League last year thanks to him, who is an outstanding talent. If he had been the player they missed those chances to score against Real Madrid, they would have been more concerned with getting one or two goals. I still think Mbappe should win right now.
However, who of the two superstars is having the better season thus far in 2022–2023? We’ve examined how their records compare to each other this season across all tournaments.
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