Erling is on level of Messi, says Guardiola

THE superlatives for Erling Haaland ran out a long time ago.

- By JEREMY CROSS

But Pep Guardiola still couldn’t resist handing Haaland the ultimate compliment when it came to summing up his striker’s goal record.

Because there is no higher praise than being compared to Lionel Messi.

Most people regard Argentine icon Messi as the greatest footballer of all time.

And in terms of goals, Guardiola reckons Haaland is up there - or even ahead of Messi - when it comes to the sheer volume of them.

For all but stoppage time of Manchester City’s battering of Burnley, it looked like Haaland was going to break the habit of a lifetime, and not find the back of the net.

Then the Norwegian sensation came to his senses and helped himself to two goals to complete this rout.

The 25-year-old now has an astonishing 15 goals in just nine games for club and country this season.

And 133 in 151 games in all competitions since joining City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.