De Bruyne Backs Man City Star Haaland to Reach Messi, Ronaldo’s Levels

• Erling Haaland has been tipped by Kevin De Bruyne to score as many goals as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
• Haaland has been in superior goal-scoring form since he made his professional debut and has since scored 200 goals
• The Norwegian will be looking to continue his Premier League hot streak when Manchester City play Leeds United

Kevin De Bruyne has backed his Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland to rise and reach the levels of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

De Bruyne has seemingly seen enough from Haaland since he made the switch to Manchester from Dortmund.

Messi and Ronaldo are arguably the best players ever to kick a football and they are often used as a yardstick for current footballers. Messi recently won the World Cup to cement his status as a GOAT and despite Ronaldo's dwindling fortunes this season, his legacy is already secured.

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Haaland has now been tasked to rise to the same astronomical levels by his assistant captain. The Norwegian striker has already shown he is more than capable after settling in quickly to the high-octane Premier League life.

Haaland is still young

De Bruyne believes that at 22 years, Haaland can also score 800 goals by the time he is reaching the end of his career.

"He already has about 200 goals, so he can probably go to 600, 700 or 800 if he stays fit and does the things that he does. He is still a young boy enjoying his life and he takes his football very seriously. He loves scoring goals, so I think that is the most unique thing he has," as quoted by Yahoo News.

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The Belgian has developed a relationship with Haaland, and Pep Guardiola will be looking to bank on it as they resume their trophy pursuit on multiple fronts.

Who can rival Kylian Mbappe?

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Kylian Mbappe underlined his credentials as the next big thing in world football by scoring a hat trick in the World Cup final against Argentina.

Well, in all fairness, he had already proven himself but the fact that Lionel Messi managed to beat him to the trophy shows that he still has to bid his time to take over. Messi winning the World Cup and best player makes him the frontrunner for the 2023 Ballon d'Or award.

When Messi and the other current top stars retire who will push Mbappe to the limits? Will it be a one-man show? At the moment, the World Cup he won in 2018 gives him an advantage but Sports Brief took a look at some of the prodigious talents who stand a chance.