Wayne Rooney has claimed that Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Kylian Mbappe are better than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi right now.
However, he stated that it is nearly impossible for the duo to replicate the careers of Messi and Ronaldo. Rooney said on Sports18 (h/t IndiaToday):
“(Erling) Haaland and (Kylian) Mbappe, of course, the next two, at this moment of time, they are obviously better than Messi and Ronaldo. But for them to emulate the career that Messi and Ronaldo have had I can’t see it like, I can’t see.”
The Argentina icon won every major trophy in football after his team’s win against France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. The Portuguese striker, meanwhile, has five Ballon d’Or wins to his name and, barring the World Cup, has won every major trophy himself.
Rooney, who was Ronaldo’s teammate at Manchester United and faced Messi in the 2009 and 2011 UEFA Champions League finals, continued:
“What Messi and Ronaldo have done is very unique in the world of football. For Messi and Ronaldo to do it in the same time in the same league for a long time, I don’t think we’ll see that again.”
Haaland and Mbappe have been scoring goals for fun at the highest level in the past few seasons. The Norway international (22) has scored 110 goals in 108 games across competitions for Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund combined.
The France international (24), meanwhile, has scored 190 goals in 237 games across competitions for PSG since joining them in the summer of 2017. He also won the Golden Boot in Qatar after scoring eight times in the 2022 World Cup.
The two have a long time ahead of them to hone their skills even further and add to their already burgeoning reputations.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still not done playing
Lionel Messi (35) and Cristiano Ronaldo (37) are yet to call it quits, and there is every chance they will win more accolades and set even more records.
The former won the Golden Ball at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and confirmed that he will not retire from national team duty just yet. The latter is also active for his national team, and the free agent is also on the lookout for a new club.
They have 12 Ballon d’Ors and countless individual records between them. Despite their age, the two have consistently shown that they can compete at the highest level.
The former Real Madrid and Juventus forward, however, could take his bow from European football if he signs with Al Nassr, who have offered him a seven-year-long contract.