Erling Haaland has spoken about his admiration for Paris Saint-Germain and France striker Kylian Mbappe in a rare interview.
If the 2000s and 2010s were all about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, then it feels like the 2020s and 2030s will be synonymous with the goalscoring talents of Haaland and Mbappe.
The two strikers are only 22 and 24 years old respectively, but they are already hitting landmarks and breaking records never achieved by great strikers of the past.
Advert
Haaland has scored a remarkable 33 goals in his 33 appearances for Manchester City, while Mbappe has found the back of the net 29 times in 29 matches this season.
However, despite the fact that the pair are the two best strikers in the world and play for European rivals, there doesn't seem to be quite the same rivalry between them that there was behind Messi and Ronaldo.
Perhaps that's because they don't regularly face each other, but maybe also because neither tends to do many interviews.
Advert
Haaland has broken the silence though, as he was asked about his fellow goalscorer in a recent interview with French broadcaster Canal Plus.
"French people are so lucky to have him play for France, I wish he played for Norway of course!" Haaland admitted.
"He's an amazing player, so quick and so good, and he's been doing it for so many years now already. What is he, two years older than me? It's crazy.
Advert
"Sometimes you have to think that he still has 10 years left at the high level. He's phenomenal."
Much like the rest of us, Haaland can only sit back and enjoy Mbappe's outrageous performances for club and country. We wouldn't bet against the Frenchman having a similar opinion about the big Norwegian.
Should City and PSG meet in the Champions League then we could be in for something special.
Topics: Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League
Alex Brotherton