In a very unusual gesture, Muhammad Ali Camara, the Guinean center of the Young Boys, asked for the shirt of the best rival striker at half-time of his match against Manchester City on Tuesday. "I'm a little surprised", admitted Raphael Wicky, coach of the Swiss team. But nothing that happens around the figure of Erling Braut Håland (Leeds, 2000) should come as a surprise, the Norwegian has already been established as the best goalscorer on planet Earth and, surely, in the entire Milky Way.
At the Ballon d'Or gala, held recently at the Chatelet theater in Paris, only the World Cup heroically achieved by Messi's Argentina stood in their way to the top. He added his eighth gold trophy, but Håland had already climbed to second place on the podium, even in front of Mbappé, a finalist in Qatar, don't forget that.
The goals have always endorsed the viking par excellence of world football, but his successful landing at Pep Guardiola's City has filled the only hole that was almost empty on his service sheet, that of titles. His first year in Manchester ended with a Premier League, a Champions League, an FA Cup and a European Super Cup, competitions in which he reached 52 goals in 53 participations, more than enough merits to elevate the giant even further to the altars blond and make his choice as the second best player in the world indisputable.
In his second season at the Etihad, the goalscorer's trajectory continues to anticipate more successes. At the moment, after 17 games, the Norwegian treasures 15 goals after the double scored on Tuesday at Young Boys, in a game in which he was a doubt until the end due to physical problems. But there is nothing to stop him, especially in the Champions League, in which he is plowing a career of absolute legend.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are the undisputed dominators of the top continental competition, but the Norwegian predator is breaking all their early records. Despite the fact that the Portuguese's 141 goals and the Argentine's 129 are still a long way off, Håland is approaching in sixth gear and at a record pace. He already has 39 goals in the Champions League (16 with City, 15 with Dortmund and 8 with Salzburg), a figure achieved after only 34 games. At his age – he is 23 – neither Messi nor Cristiano reached even half of their goals in the competition par excellence.
As he continues to sprint towards these two beasts, Håland is leaving behind other historic names. With 43 goals in European competitions (39 in the Champions League and 4 in the Europa League), he has already surpassed Mbappé, with 25 fewer games played, and equaled Neymar, who will soon be nothing more than a dim figure in the Viking's rearview mirror 21st century
