Best Striker in the World

I mean the debate is about the best "striker" in the world, not the best all round CF or attacking player or something. Of course the primarily role of a "striker" is to score goals for his team. Sure Kane is a good striker too, but there's no way he is better "striker" than Haaland. Not a chance.

That's just fundimentally not true. There is loads to being a striker in addition to scoring goals.

Such a dramatic misunderstanding of the role a striker plays at their best.
 
I am not making a comment on Mbappe with this, but international football is pretty weak, there are no international teams that are as good as top club teams.
And you know ow this how?
 
He's got roughly 15 or 20 games against top opponents in his entire career. City, Bayern, Madrid, Liverpool, Juventus, Barcelona and us if you can call the last couple top opponents. Its not really enough to judge him vs the worlds best, whereas Haaland has come to the toughest league and torn it apart.
If you think that with everything Mbappe has achieved in his career thus far that he is somehow not proven because he doesn't play in the freaking Premier league, then I simply can't help you.

Let me ask you a question: what is the most important goal Haaland has ever scored in his career?

And what's the answer to the same question for Mbappe?
 
And you know ow this how?
I would say it's visibly clear, and logical. National teams don't train as long together, it's therefore more simplistic, and they can't buy players to balance squads.
 
Don’t know. But there’s nobody I’d rather have right now than Kane.
 
Haaland. With the right support he is lethal. He is a beast physically as a striker.
 
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If you think that with everything Mbappe has achieved in his career thus far that he is somehow not proven because he doesn't play in the freaking Premier league, then I simply can't help you.

Let me ask you a question: what is the most important goal Haaland has ever scored in his career?

And what's the answer to the same question for Mbappe?

Eder > Mbappe > Haaland
 
That's just fundimentally not true. There is loads to being a striker in addition to scoring goals.

Such a dramatic misunderstanding of the role a striker plays at their best.

Not necessarily. It depends on the team and role function. If your output as a striker is voluminous enough no manager gives a feck about how many dribbles you had outside the box
 
Not necessarily. It depends on the team and role function. If your output as a striker is voluminous enough no manager gives a feck about how many dribbles you had outside the box

Yes necessarily, a manager does care if a a striker can hold up the ball, facilitate for others, beat a man, help dominate possession.

You can adapt if they score enough goals but can't do the above but any manager would want someone who can do those things and score goals.
 
Right now it's Haaland.

Awesome. The best 'player' no, but goalscorer, yes for me, right now.
 
I would say it's visibly clear, and logical. National teams don't train as long together, it's therefore more simplistic, and they can't buy players to balance squads.
I would say it is neither visibly clear nor logical. The most successful international team over the last few years has been France. They are a match for any club side
 
That's what might happen when you play against Sevilla, Zenit, Brugge and Lazio.. sounds more like Europa League teams he played against..

Also, he could never lead Bundesliga as the top goal-scorer, could not even finish as the 2nd..
Stop changing goal posts. You first said, he only scored because it was Bundesliga. When I said he won UCL top scorer award, you are now saying it is because his opponents were fodder.


Just say you dislike Haaland and move on, instead of trying to put an argument which contradicts itself after every post.
 
Stop changing goal posts. You first said, he only scored because it was Bundesliga. When I said he won UCL top scorer award, you are now saying it is because his opponents were fodder.


Just say you dislike Haaland and move on, instead of trying to put an argument which contradicts itself after every post.

What are you talking about?

I did not even talk to you... You came out of nowhere responding to my post with his CL goals as if that's relevant to my post:lol:, changing the goal posts and then getting irritated as I showed how he scored goals against Europa league level teams..

You probably have an emotional connection with the tap-in merchant if you are triggered that easily.

You probably think that because he scored against mighty Zenit, Brugge and the like, he would create the same wow factor like other top CL goalscorers like Benzema, CR7, Lewa, Messi etc.

Haaland is not even the best striker Dortmund produced in the last 10 years let alone the world, he is not even comparable to Lewa.. If you are looking for something impressive at Dortmund, go watch how Lewa destroyed Real Madrid in the CL semis with 4 goals... After seeing Van Basten, R9, CR7, Benzema, Romario, Lewa etc. etc., it is not easy to impress us with tap-in skills only..
 
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Yeah because he was only there for 2 seasons and an established Lewa in a better team was at the peak of his career and the best striker in the world, arguably the best player in the world too.

What's your overall point even? Haaland at the age of 23 hasn't proven himself in every scenario possible? I'm sure he'll prove a lot more in the career as he plays more seasons.

You really think Haaland wouldn't be a prolific goal scorer as much as Kane at Tottenham? Any sensible person can see he would and he's a natural top goal scorer wherever he plays.

You're going nowhere with your arguments. You're just nitpicking stats which will eventually get proven wrong as Haaland keeps playing. You were probably in the "he wouldn't score as much in the prem as he did in Bundesliga" camp before he joined city.

My overall point: Haaland is probably the most overrated striker.. I have never seen a striker with such limited skills set being hyped up that much. If someone did not watch him and read some posts here, he would think we are talking about R9..

Cannot create on his own
Way inferior to Van Basten, Romario, Benzema, R9, Lewa etc. who could single handedly win a game by themselves at the flick of a switch
Almost none passing ability
Worst player with the lowest ratings by far when he does not score (just like in the 7 semis & finals he played)
No link-up play / hold-up play/ dribbling / through pass skills
Poor ball control
Does not drop deep to create space
Zero involvement in the build-up to the extent City players purposefully ignore him to pass when they are building up play because he offers nothing more than a tap in
Most his goals are in the 6 yard box so a natural tap in merchant
Boring player to watch, zero excitement factor unlike the greatest strikers ever
 
He's got roughly 15 or 20 games against top opponents in his entire career. City, Bayern, Madrid, Liverpool, Juventus, Barcelona and us if you can call the last couple top opponents. Its not really enough to judge him vs the worlds best, whereas Haaland has come to the toughest league and torn it apart.

As if City needed Haaland to tear the league apart, the team that dominated the PL without a proper striker before Haaland... City scored more the year before Haaland arrived, their goal output basically went down in the PL with Haaland..

Even Sterling scored 17/18/20 goals in the PL with City and he is a notoriously bad finisher.

Yeah, such a tough league that City won 5 times in the last 6 years with record points, sounds no different from the 1-team league Bundesliga to me. I see a lot of United fans not being happy with their team for years (relative to SAF years) yet that above average team very frequently finishes the league in the top-3, tells you all you need to know about the toughness level..

Also, Haaland ghosted when needed most. He was not brought in to win the PL, or ghosting in every single semis & finals with City.. Some people talk as if City was a struggling side before he arrived and single-handedly changed City’s fate directing his team like a maestro leading them to the PL title, FA Cup and especially to CL title with his regular ghosting habits in the most important games of the season.. For a lot of people including tons of City fans, KDB/Rodri and even Gundogan were way more instrumental to City's success..
 
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A poor man's Gerd Muller...

As if Muller, Lewa, Mbappe, Messi, Ronaldo etc. hasn't been spoonfed in similarly or more dominant clubs. R9 was really special but unfortunately we didn't see his full potential because of injuries, he still never scored at the same rate. Not even in that one Barca season. City doesn't create more chances than Bayern or PSG or RM or Barca did a few years ago.

Imagine putting the one-dimensional penalty box poacher Haaland's name next to Messi the GOAT playmaker+dribbler+creator+goalscorer and talking about being spoonfed.

You are aware that Ronaldo, Mbappe, Lewa has way more to their game penalty box poacher Haaland right? and I am not even comparing with Messi as there is nothing to compare between Messi & Haaland.

xG created in the league games so far this season (top 5 leagues):
Bayern 3,33 xG/90
Leverkusen 3,05 xG/90
Inter 2,71 xG/90
Liverpool 2,52 xG/90
City 2,49 xG/90
Stuttgart 2,47 xG/90
Brighton 2,38 xG/90
Monaco 2,38 xG/90
Barca 2,26 xG/90
PSG 2,23 xG/90

xG for PSG, Bayern, City, Liverpool, Barca, Real Madrid and Dortmund in relevant seasons (I don't have numbers older than 14/15 season) :
Dortmund while Haaland was there (2020 - 2022): 1,89 - 2,03 - 1,93 and City (2022/23): 2,22
Bayern (2018 - 2022) when they dominated the most while Lewa was there: 2,71 - 2,73 - 2,23 - 2,94
PSG while Mbappe has been there (2017 - 2023) 2,27 - 2,17 - 2,21 - 2,83 - 2,51 - 2,37
Barca and Real Madrid averaged between 2,4 and 3,0 between 2014 - 2018 and I suspect they were even higher in the superdominant periods before that. Barca scored 100+ goals in Laliga 6 seasons in a row between 2011 and 2017, Real Madrid did it 8 seasons in a row between 2009 and 2017 and both had multipe seasons with 110+ goals. City has scored 100+ twice (peak 106)

I really can't see how Haaland's been spoonfed any more than any of the other top strikers, quite the opposite.

Being spoonfed means having zero role in build-up play, chance creation, having no ability to create for yourself out of nothing and being excessively reliant on service. This is what Haaland is known for unlike top strikers like Benzema, Van Basten, R9, Lewa, Ronaldo etc..

...and still:
Since the start of the 19/20 season when Haaland exploded in to the scene as a 19 year old for clubs and country:

Haaland:
199 goals (29 pens) and 44 assists in 15691 minutes for Salzburg, Dortmund, City and Norway:
1,14 goals/90
0,98 non penalty goals/90
1,40 goals+assists/90
1,23 non penalty goal + assists/90

Mbappe:
187 goals (27 pens) and 79 assists in 17435 minutes for a stacked PSG in Ligue 1 (this is a joke) and a stacked France:
0,96 goals/90
0,82 non penalty goals/90
1,37 goals+assists/90
1,23 non penalty goal + assists/90

Lewa:
216 goals (30 pens) and 50 assists in 19156 minutes for a stacked Bayern in Bundesliga, Barca and Poland:
1,01 goals/90
0,87 non penalty goals/90
1,25 goals+assists/90
1,10 non penalty goal + assists/90

Kane:
161 goals (37 pens) and 51 assists in 19675 minutes for Spurs, Bayern and England:
0,74 goals/90
0,57 non penalty goals/90
0,97 goals+assists/90
0,80 non penalty goal + assists/90

And what's that supposed to show? You are comparing apples & oranges without considering any context.

Talking about players being focal points in dominant teams through their peaks:
Ronaldo for RM in all comps: 450 goals (79 pens) and 131 assists in 37833 minutes
1,07 goals/90
0,88 non penalty goals/90
1,38 goals+assists/90
1,19 non penalty goal + assists/90
Behind Haaland in all end product parameters.

Messi for Barca in all comps: 672 goals (84 pens) and 303 assists in 63507 minutes
0,95 goals/90
0,83 non penalty goals/90
1,38 goals+assists/90
1,26 non penalty goal + assists/90
Behind on all but non penalty goal contributions/90 (where he's marginally ahead)

How can you compare Messi with a player like Haaland? Unbelievable..

Since you love basic stats so much, compare Haaland with Messi on dribbling, big chance creation, through balls and all types of playmaking stats. If it is too hard, go to youtube and watch a couple of games of Messi and then Haaland, and maybe (I'm not even sure after seeing your post), you will be able to identify the differences in their game..


Do you really think Haaland has had a huge advantage against the others when it comes to playing for a stacked team? Is 2023 City a more stacked team than 2010-15 Barca? How do you rate Haalands current support crew, Alvarez-Doku-Foden vs. Xavi-Iniesta-Neymar/Villa/Fabregas?

I mean seriously, this is not even funny at this point.
Messi was the major reason why Barca were creating that many chances feeding Suarez, Villa, Henry etc. Please do yourself a favor and stop posting about Messi, this is getting beyond ridiculous..

Haaland has just completed his first season at a major club and won a treble.
Yeah, thanks to his City teammates who had to bail him out in 7 semis & finals when he was too busy ghosting in the field.. As if City was a struggling side before him, and he led his team to trophies like a maestro regularly shitting the bed when it matters most, being the worst player on the pitch definitely helped...

Haalands record in the CL for Dortmund and Salzburg:
23 goals (3 pens)and 3 asssists in 1463 minutes (19 games): 1,42 goals/90 - 1,24 non penalty goals/90 - 1,60 G+A/90 - 1,42 npg+A/90
25 goals in 26 games for Norway.
Was he helped by playing for really dominant teams then as well?
Which teams did he score these goals against? Bayern, Barca, Real, City, Liverpool?
At the NT level, which nations did he score against?

He has about as much X-factor as you can have. At 23 he's already by far the biggest star in the best league, by a distance. He get's 50M a year to wear Nike shoes....
City won their first treble in his first season and he scored 52 goals.

Pure BS, yeah he is by far better than KDB and Rodri:lol:.
He is by far the best in terms of ghosting in all 7 semis& finals, I'll give you that

even City fans do not consider him the best City player, most think KDB and Rodri were way more influential.. Read below, maybe you can learn a thing or two about football as well..

www.reddit.com/r/PremierLeague/comments/13wv4m6/who_would_you_say_is_man_citys_best_player_how/
 
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That's just fundimentally not true. There is loads to being a striker in addition to scoring goals.

Such a dramatic misunderstanding of the role a striker plays at their best.
Haaland won PL/FWA/PFA player of the year last season above Kane’s (one of Kane’s best ever PL season btw). So I guess that’s a huge misunderstanding too and they got it all wrong then.
 
Imagine putting the one-dimensional penalty box poacher Haaland's name next to Messi the GOAT playmaker+dribbler+creator+goalscorer and talking about being spoonfed.

You are aware that Ronaldo, Mbappe, Lewa has way more to their game penalty box poacher Haaland right? Haaland has basically zero involvement in chance creation unlike those above who are way more directly involved,,. and I am not even comparing with Messi as there is nothing to compare between Messi & Haaland.





Being spoonfed means having zero role in build-up play, chance creation, having no ability to create for yourself out of nothing and being excessively reliant on service. This is what Haaland is known for unlike top strikers like Benzema, Van Basten, R9, Lewa, Ronaldo etc..



And what's that supposed to show? You are comparing apples & oranges without considering any context.



I do not think that you have any clue on football. How can you compare Messi with a player like Haaland? Unbelievable, but I can help you maybe a bit.
Since you love basic stats so much, compare Haaland with Messi/Ronaldo on dribbling, big chance creation, through balls and all types of playmaking stats. If it is too hard, go to youtube and watch a couple of games of Messi and then Haaland, and maybe (I'm not even sure after seeing your post), you will be able to identify the differences in their game..

Imagine not even knowing Messi's GOAT status as a playmaker, creator and comparing with Haaland




Unbelievable, still comparing Messi with Haaland, I mean seriously, this is not even funny at this point.
You are aware that Messi was a GOAT playmaker, right, and he is the major reason why Barca were creating that many chances feeding Suarez, Villa, Henry etc. Please do yourself a favor and stop posting about Messi, this is getting beyond ridiculous..


Yeah, thanks to his City teammates who had to bail him out in 7 semis & finals when he was too busy ghosting in the field.. As if City was a struggling side before him, and he led his team to trophies like a maestro regularly shitting the bed when it matters most, being the worst player on the pitch definitely helped))


Which teams did he score these goals against? Bayern, Barca, Real, City, Liverpool?
At the NT level, which nations did he score against?


Pure BS, yeah he is by far better than KDB and Rodri:lol:. Do you even follow PL?
He is by far the best in terms of ghosting in all 7 semis& finals and shitting the bed, I'll give you that

even City fans do not consider him the best City player, most think KDB and Rodri were way more influential.. Read below, maybe you can learn a thing or two about football as well..

www.reddit.com/r/PremierLeague/comments/13wv4m6/who_would_you_say_is_man_citys_best_player_how/
So what you’re saying is you really like Haaland
 
What are you talking about?

I did not even talk to you... You came out of nowhere responding to my post with his CL goals as if that's relevant to my post:lol:, changing the goal posts and then getting irritated as I showed how he scored goals against Europa league level teams..

You probably have an emotional connection with the tap-in merchant if you are triggered that easily.

You probably think that because he scored against mighty Zenit, Brugge and the like, he would create the same wow factor like other top CL goalscorers like Benzema, CR7, Lewa, Messi etc.

Haaland is not even the best striker Dortmund produced in the last 10 years let alone the world, he is not even comparable to Lewa.. If you are looking for something impressive at Dortmund, go watch how Lewa destroyed Real Madrid in the CL semis with 4 goals... After seeing Van Basten, R9, CR7, Benzema, Romario, Lewa etc. etc., it is not easy to impress us with tap-in skills only..


Again you are changing goal posts.

Just say you hate Haaland and move on, instead of writing loads of paragraphs.

First you said, he could only score loads of goals, because it was Bundesliga(Austrian and German), when I said he has scored at a ridiculous rate in UCL too with both Dortmund then his CL goals also don't matter.

And you have already discounted his EPL goals.

So basically you hate him, and somehow I am being emotional :lol: .
 
Eder's goal was way more important than any Mbappe goal for France. Eder singlehandedly won Portugal the Euros against France. Mbappe "stat-padded" in 2018 and his goals were useless in 2022.

Nonsensical right? Exactly.
Nonsense and irrelevant to the point raised, which alluded to the performances of two elite players in massive, pressure filled games. Bringing up a one off fluke by an average player as a deflection tactic is foolish and pointless.
 
How can you compare Messi with a player like Haaland? Unbelievable..

Pure BS, yeah he is by far better than KDB and Rodri:lol:.
He is by far the best in terms of ghosting in all 7 semis& finals, I'll give you that
I'm not bothering to answer all that. What a mess of a post. I can comment on this, though.
I was simply comparing his numbers with all the other suspects and the "goat contenders", and when his numbers are similar and better than Messi and Ronaldo's numbers playing for the most dominant club teams in European football of all time, don't you think it's relevant?
When it comes to x-factor, is he not the biggest star in that City team? Their biggest poster boy, the one who sells the most shirts etc? As I said, by far.

What are you talking about?
I did not even talk to you... You came out of nowhere responding to my post with his CL goals as if that's relevant to my post:lol:, changing the goal posts and then getting irritated as I showed how he scored goals against Europa league level teams..
You probably have an emotional connection with the tap-in merchant if you are triggered that easily.
You probably think that because he scored against mighty Zenit, Brugge and the like, he would create the same wow factor like other top CL goalscorers like Benzema, CR7, Lewa, Messi etc.
Haaland is not even the best striker Dortmund produced in the last 10 years let alone the world, he is not even comparable to Lewa.. If you are looking for something impressive at Dortmund, go watch how Lewa destroyed Real Madrid in the CL semis with 4 goals... After seeing Van Basten, R9, CR7, Benzema, Romario, Lewa etc. etc., it is not easy to impress us with tap-in skills only..
Wow!
I'm going to have to prove you wrong with numbers again, because apparently these other players only play tough opponents in the CL and have to do everything by them selves.

CL stats for Van Basten, Romario, R9, CR7, Messi, Benzema, Lewa, Mbappe and Kane compared to 23 year old Haaland's:

Van Basten:
5 goals and 1 assists in 9 games against top 5 league teams: 0,56 goals/game - 0,67 G+A/game
14 goals (he scored 8 of those in 2 games against the mighty Levski Sofia and IFK Gothenburg) and 4 assists in 18 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,78 G/game - 1,0 G+A/game
Played 3 finals (All with AC Milan): Scored 2 in a 4-0 win against the mighty Steaua Bucuresti, assisted the goal in their 1-0 win against Benfica and did nothing in their 0-1 loss against Marseille (CL was not what it is now, back then)

Romario:
5 goals and 1 assists in 8 games against top 5 league teams: 0,63 goals/game - 0,75 G+A/game
15 goals and 2 assists in 24 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,63 G/game - 0,71 G+A/game
Played 1 final and did nothing in Barca's 0-4 loss to Milan.

R9:
10 goals and 4 assists in 24 games against top 5 league teams: 0,42 goals/game - 0,58 G+A/game
4 goals and 6 assists in 16 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,25 G/game - 0,50 G+A/game
5 goals and 1 assist in 12 KO stage games 0,42 G/game - 0,50 G+A/game
Never got to a final.

CR7:
86 goals and 25 assists in 118 games against top 5 league teams: 0,73 goals/game - 0,94 G+A/game
54 goals and 23 assists in 65 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,83 G/game - 1,18 G+A/game
69 goals and 17 assist in 85 KO stage games 0,81 G/game - 1,01 G+A/game
One of the, if not the, most clutch CL players in history with 5 titles and many great late stage performances, but still: Did nothing in the 2009 final, 2011 semis, 2016 semi and final, 2018 semis and final. And had done very little before he turned 23.

Messi:
73 goals and 24 assists in 99 games against top 5 league teams: 0,74 goals/game - 0,98 G+A/game
56 goals and 21 assists in 64 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,88 G/game - 1,20 G+A/game
47 goals and 14 assist in 77 KO stage games 0,61 G/game - 0,79 G+A/game
Scored in both finals against us, but has strangely gone missing in the later stages of the CL many times...

Benzema:
51 goals and 13 assists in 98 games against top 5 league teams: 0,52 goals/game - 0,65 G+A/game
39 goals and 17 assists in 53 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,74 G/game - 1,06 G+A/game
34 goals and 8 assist in 69 KO stage games 0,49 G/game - 0,61 G+A/game
Had one of the best CL campains ever in 2022 (and still was a passenger in the final), but has strangely gone missing in the later stages of the CL many times despite winning the tournament 5 times.

Lewa:
36 goals and 17 assists in 62 games against top 5 league teams: 0,58 goals/game - 0,85 G+A/game
56 goals and 9 assists in 50 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 1,12 G/game - 1,3 G+A/game
30 goals and 13 assist in 44 KO stage games 0,68 G/game - 0,98 G+A/game
Feasted on the weaker teams. Hasn't scored in any of the finals he's played...

Kane:
10 goals and 6 assists in 23 games against top 5 league teams: 0,43 goals/game - 0,70 G+A/game
12 goals and 0 assists in 10 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 1,2 G/game - 1,2 G+A/game
2 goals and 0 assists in 6 KO stage games 0,33 G/game - 0,33 G+A/game
Feasted on the weaker teams, was carried to a final and did nothing there.

Mbappe:
24 goals and 10 assists in 42 games against top 5 league teams: 0,57 goals/game - 0,81 G+A/game
17 goals and 16 assists in 20 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,85 G/game - 1,65 G+A/game
15 goals and 3 assist in 24 KO stage games 0,63 G/game - 0,75 G+A/game
Feasts on weaker teams. Did nothing the semi or final in 2020 and scored 1 in two losing semis against Juve.

Haaland (was still 22 back in june):
21 goals and 3 assists in 21 games against top 5 league teams: 1,0 goals/game - 1,14 G+A/game
14 goals and 2 assists in 10 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 1,4 G/game - 1,6 G+A/game
13 goals and 3 assist in 13 KO stage games 1,0 G/game - 1,23 G+A/game
Did nothing in the semis and final last season.
Just a spoonfed ghost. Right?

Here's a couple of the records he broke last season:
- Crushed the record for most goals in all comps for a PL player in a single season (52 goals) (Salah and RVN 44, Ronaldo 42, Kane 40, Henry 39......Aguero 33)
- Crushed the record for most goals in the PL in a single season (36 goals) (Salah 32 -Shearer and Cole with 34 in a 42 game season)
- Crushed the record for fastest player to 30 goals in the CL (25 games) (RVN 34, Lewa 36, Messi 48, Neymar 49....Mbappe 51)

It's so strange that other clubs hasn't been doing this. I mean spoonfeed decent player (not great players) to record after record....and he's been lucky enough that all the clubs he's been at the last few years has done exactly that....and Norway.
I'm especially impressed with how mighty Salzburg managed to spoonfeed 19 year old Haaland with no less than 8 goals and 1 assist in 374 minutes in a CL group with Liverpool (reigning champs), Napoli and Genk.
If I didn't know better I would probably believe he's just a lot to handle for most defenses out there, but then I remember....he's just a boring player beeing spoonfed with tapins.
 
I'm not bothering to answer all that. What a mess of a post. I can comment on this, though.
I was simply comparing his numbers with all the other suspects and the "goat contenders", and when his numbers are similar and better than Messi and Ronaldo's numbers playing for the most dominant club teams in European football of all time, don't you think it's relevant?
When it comes to x-factor, is he not the biggest star in that City team? Their biggest poster boy, the one who sells the most shirts etc? As I said, by far.


Wow!
I'm going to have to prove you wrong with numbers again, because apparently these other players only play tough opponents in the CL and have to do everything by them selves.

CL stats for Van Basten, Romario, R9, CR7, Messi, Benzema, Lewa, Mbappe and Kane compared to 23 year old Haaland's:

Van Basten:
5 goals and 1 assists in 9 games against top 5 league teams: 0,56 goals/game - 0,67 G+A/game
14 goals (he scored 8 of those in 2 games against the mighty Levski Sofia and IFK Gothenburg) and 4 assists in 18 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,78 G/game - 1,0 G+A/game
Played 3 finals (All with AC Milan): Scored 2 in a 4-0 win against the mighty Steaua Bucuresti, assisted the goal in their 1-0 win against Benfica and did nothing in their 0-1 loss against Marseille (CL was not what it is now, back then)

Romario:
5 goals and 1 assists in 8 games against top 5 league teams: 0,63 goals/game - 0,75 G+A/game
15 goals and 2 assists in 24 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,63 G/game - 0,71 G+A/game
Played 1 final and did nothing in Barca's 0-4 loss to Milan.

R9:
10 goals and 4 assists in 24 games against top 5 league teams: 0,42 goals/game - 0,58 G+A/game
4 goals and 6 assists in 16 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,25 G/game - 0,50 G+A/game
5 goals and 1 assist in 12 KO stage games 0,42 G/game - 0,50 G+A/game
Never got to a final.

CR7:
86 goals and 25 assists in 118 games against top 5 league teams: 0,73 goals/game - 0,94 G+A/game
54 goals and 23 assists in 65 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,83 G/game - 1,18 G+A/game
69 goals and 17 assist in 85 KO stage games 0,81 G/game - 1,01 G+A/game
One of the, if not the, most clutch CL players in history with 5 titles and many great late stage performances, but still: Did nothing in the 2009 final, 2011 semis, 2016 semi and final, 2018 semis and final. And had done very little before he turned 23.

Messi:
73 goals and 24 assists in 99 games against top 5 league teams: 0,74 goals/game - 0,98 G+A/game
56 goals and 21 assists in 64 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,88 G/game - 1,20 G+A/game
47 goals and 14 assist in 77 KO stage games 0,61 G/game - 0,79 G+A/game
Scored in both finals against us, but has strangely gone missing in the later stages of the CL many times...

Benzema:
51 goals and 13 assists in 98 games against top 5 league teams: 0,52 goals/game - 0,65 G+A/game
39 goals and 17 assists in 53 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,74 G/game - 1,06 G+A/game
34 goals and 8 assist in 69 KO stage games 0,49 G/game - 0,61 G+A/game
Had one of the best CL campains ever in 2022 (and still was a passenger in the final), but has strangely gone missing in the later stages of the CL many times despite winning the tournament 5 times.

Lewa:
36 goals and 17 assists in 62 games against top 5 league teams: 0,58 goals/game - 0,85 G+A/game
56 goals and 9 assists in 50 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 1,12 G/game - 1,3 G+A/game
30 goals and 13 assist in 44 KO stage games 0,68 G/game - 0,98 G+A/game
Feasted on the weaker teams. Hasn't scored in any of the finals he's played...

Kane:
10 goals and 6 assists in 23 games against top 5 league teams: 0,43 goals/game - 0,70 G+A/game
12 goals and 0 assists in 10 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 1,2 G/game - 1,2 G+A/game
2 goals and 0 assists in 6 KO stage games 0,33 G/game - 0,33 G+A/game
Feasted on the weaker teams, was carried to a final and did nothing there.

Mbappe:
24 goals and 10 assists in 42 games against top 5 league teams: 0,57 goals/game - 0,81 G+A/game
17 goals and 16 assists in 20 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 0,85 G/game - 1,65 G+A/game
15 goals and 3 assist in 24 KO stage games 0,63 G/game - 0,75 G+A/game
Feasts on weaker teams. Did nothing the semi or final in 2020 and scored 1 in two losing semis against Juve.

Haaland (was still 22 back in june):
21 goals and 3 assists in 21 games against top 5 league teams: 1,0 goals/game - 1,14 G+A/game
14 goals and 2 assists in 10 games against teams outside the top 5 leagues: 1,4 G/game - 1,6 G+A/game
13 goals and 3 assist in 13 KO stage games 1,0 G/game - 1,23 G+A/game
Did nothing in the semis and final last season.
Just a spoonfed ghost. Right?

Here's a couple of the records he broke last season:
- Crushed the record for most goals in all comps for a PL player in a single season (52 goals) (Salah and RVN 44, Ronaldo 42, Kane 40, Henry 39......Aguero 33)
- Crushed the record for most goals in the PL in a single season (36 goals) (Salah 32 -Shearer and Cole with 34 in a 42 game season)
- Crushed the record for fastest player to 30 goals in the CL (25 games) (RVN 34, Lewa 36, Messi 48, Neymar 49....Mbappe 51)

It's so strange that other clubs hasn't been doing this. I mean spoonfeed decent player (not great players) to record after record....and he's been lucky enough that all the clubs he's been at the last few years has done exactly that....and Norway.
I'm especially impressed with how mighty Salzburg managed to spoonfeed 19 year old Haaland with no less than 8 goals and 1 assist in 374 minutes in a CL group with Liverpool (reigning champs), Napoli and Genk.
If I didn't know better I would probably believe he's just a lot to handle for most defenses out there, but then I remember....he's just a boring player beeing spoonfed with tapins.
There was no such thing as 'top 5 leagues' when Romario was playing. That is a modern invention caused by the concentration of all the world's top talent in a handful of leagues post Bosman (not immediately but eventually)
 
Great post and you make good points.

I still think history shows that Kane has been more of a "bottler" in the "big" games.
Haaland sure have more statistical outbursts than most strikers, but he also have the consistancy, except maybe as you mention against the top teams and the big games last season.
In the PL there's only 3 teams he hasn't scored against (out of the 21 teams he's faced): Liverpool and Brentford which he only played once and Chelsea which he only started once against.

Right now, it's definitely between those two. I think Haaland is the best goalscorer of them and is harder for the opponents to handle, while Kane has a bit more to his game.

You also have a good memory (The Ronaldo reference): It is possible to beat Haaland with the same stick, especially when it comes to the big games last season, but not as much as Ronaldo:
Ronaldo scored 7 goals in 14 matches between 1/1 - 20/4 for us in 2022. 6 of those goals came in 2 games. That means 11 blanks in 14 games.

They commented on the game today that he's only scored in 5 of his last 16 competitive matches for City. The cluster thing is definitely something to watch out for. This feels like the first real "rut" of his career. I put that in quotes because he's still scoring at a good clip overall.
 
For me:

1. Donatello: the most complete striker since R9.
2. Kane: Nor just a goal scorer but someone who can influence a game with his play making and hold up play.
3. Majin Buu: the best poacher in ages, but his game is very lacking on other areas.
4. Lewandowski: has declined, but Can single handely win his club (currently FC Negreira) games by himself.
5. Benzema: Went to a shit league, but still and extremely influential and complete striker.
 
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For me:

1. Donatello: the most complete striker since R9.
2. Kane: Nor just a goal scorer but someone who can influence a game with his play making and hold up play.
3. Majin Buu: the best poacher in ages, but his game is very lacking on other areas.
4. Lewandowski: has declined, but Can single handely win his club (currently FC Negreira) games by himself.
5. Benzema: Went to a shit league, but still and extremely influential and complete striker.
Is Mbappe even a striker?
 
Is Mbappe even a striker?

He doesn't even consider himself a striker if you asked him in all likelihood, so I'd say no.

Arguing for Haaland as the best striker in the world though is something I'd buy less and less. His all-around game is just so limited compared to other great strikers of all-time.