Haaland’s audacious plan to eclipse Messi and Ronaldo

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:46 CDT
• 4 min read

Erling Haaland has set out an ambitious plan that could see him eclipse the achievements of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the eyes of many.

He might only have joined Manchester City in the summer and may be smashing the goals in for the Premier League champions, but the Norway international is already plotting his exit from the club.

Haaland has made a spectacular impact with Pep Guardiola’s side since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. It was a transfer masterminded by a points system put together by his team and saw the Norway star turn down sides like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

But while City ultimately won the race to sign the 22-year-old, keeping him on a long-term basis does not appear to be on the cards.

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His father, Alfie, has revealed that Haaland has plans for domination on a scale not previously seen in world football.

“I think Erling wants to prove his abilities in all leagues. Then he can stay there [Manchester City] for three or four years at the most. He could be, for example, two-and-a-half years in Germany, two-and-a-half years in England and then in Spain, Italy, France, right?” he said on the documentary ‘Haaland: The Big Decision’.

Haaland preparing to set himself apart

While Haaland is already on course to break Lionel Messi’s remarkable scoring record for a single season, he appears to be eyeing up the type of Europe-wide domination that no player has achieved previously.

Messi has only won titles in Spain and France, for example, and while Cristiano Ronaldo has picked up trophies in England, Spain and Italy, neither of the game’s modern day greats has claimed silverware in all of Europe’s ‘Big 5’ leagues.

Haaland’s plan, it seems, is to leave no one doubting his abilities by winning trophies in all of these four competitions.

One reason this may be important to him is the fact that he does not come from a major footballing nation. While Messi and Ronaldo are both expected to win international honours due to their representation of Argentina and Portugal respectively, Norway rarely qualify for major competitions, and though Haaland is liable to change this, realistically glory will be out of his reach.

How, then, can he reckon with these two greats? Quite simply by proving himself on every conceivable stage.

Haaland may be at Man City today, but down the line it’s easy to see him turning out for Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Milan in what might be one of the most exciting personal goals ever targeted at the top level.