Erling Haaland’s Reaction to Cristiano Ronaldo Dubbing Himself the Best Goal Scorer Goes Viral

• Erling Haaland was not impressed by Cristiano Ronaldo calling himself the ‘best goal scorer’
• The Norwegian won the Men’s Best Player at the Globe Soccer Awards
• This came days after the Norwegian lost out to Messi in The Best FIFA Men's Player award

Erling Haaland’s reaction to Cristiano Ronaldo dubbing himself the ‘best goal scorer’ has gone viral online.

Ronaldo made the comments on Friday, January 19, at the Globe Soccer Awards, drawing a reaction from the young Norwegian.

To be fair to the Portuguese superstar, his comments were warranted as he beat the likes of Haaland Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe to emerge as the top goal scorer in the 2023 calendar year with 54 goals for both club and country.

In contrast, Haaland netted 50 goals, but the young striker missed seven games towards the end of 2023.

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While speaking during the awards, Ronaldo acknowledged the much younger forwards like Haaland for their prowess in front of goal but couldn’t help but put himself on top, saying, per Fabrizio Romano:

"I was the best goalscorer. I had to beat the young lions, like Haaland for example, so I'm proud."

Ronaldo, who turns 39 in February, followed up his comment with a light laugh, but cameras panned to Haaland, who did not seem too impressed with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s initial attempt at humour.

The Manchester City striker, however, managed a smile when Ronaldo added a comment about how good he looked at 38.

Haaland wins Men’s Best Player

Haaland however had the last laugh as he beat Cristiano to win the Best Men's Player at the 2023 Globe Soccer Awards.

It was a relief for the striker, who had to make peace with second place in the 2023 Ballon d’Or and the Best FIFA Men's Player award, losing both awards to Lionel Messi.

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Messi was also among the nominees, but the Argentine was once again a no-show at the Friday event held in Dubai, per GOAL.

The list of nominees also featured big names like Jude Bellingham, Karim Benzema, Kevin De Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Bernardo Silva, Vinicius Junior and Nigerian ace Victor Osimhen.

Haaland had a stellar 2023, winning the treble with Manchester City and scoring 52 goals in 53 games.

It is easy to argue that the 23-year old would have bagged more goals if he didn’t sustain an injury that kept him out for the last seven games of 2023.

Cristiano Ronaldo wins big

Ronaldo also emerged victorious at the Globe Soccer Awards as he was feted with three prizes as his eternal rival Lionel Messi was completely snubbed.

He was awarded the Best Middle East Player accolade, as well as the Maradona Award for the best goal scorer of 2023 and the Fans’ Favourite Player of the year award.

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Two Manchester City players, Rodri and Ederson, won Best Midfielder and Best Goalkeeper awards respectively.

When will Cristiano retire?

Sports Brief also reported on Ronaldo’s comments on when he will possibly retire.

Without revealing specific dates, Ronaldo strongly hinted he had no intentions of hanging his boots anytime soon.

“The moment I feel I’m done, I'll retire… Maybe in 10 years?!”