Pundit Reveals Why Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé are at Same Level

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry kicked off the debate this week, stating that in his eyes, Mbappé is a better player than Erling Haaland. The panel debated the topic on Friday’s edition of L’Equipe du Soir (h/t Canal Supporters).

Haaland scored a brace as Pep Guardiola’s side thrashed Sevilla 4-0 in the Champions League in Spain on Tuesday night, while Mbappe scored both of Paris Saint-Germain’s goals as the Ligue 1 outfit defeated Juventus at the Parc des Princes.

But the PSG star has been unable to keep up with Haaland’s goalscoring exploits so far this season as he has currently found the net nine times.

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Haaland has made a scintillating start to the season, registering 12 goals and one assist in eight appearances. The 22-year-old, who arrived from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, has started every game for City so far this season.

Since Haaland and Mbappe burst onto the scene, people have argued over who the better player is – with several pundits split on the debate. However, Henry – who, like Mbappe, started out at Monaco – has backed his compatriot when asked about his preference.

But French football pundit Grégory Schneider disagrees with Henry regarding Mbappé being the better player than Haaland, noting that the former France international must not have seen the striker during his tenure at Borussia Dortmund.

“I have no doubts about the fact that Mbappé is creative; he is often at the start of the actions and then at the end,” Schneider said.

“But [Thierry Henry] must not have seen Haaland for three years because I saw him do absolutely everything on the pitch.

“I’ve seen him shine in transitional play with Dortmund, I’ve seen him step aside, I’ve seen him be at the start of actions and then at the end. Where there is a little something in what Henry says is that Manchester City is changing Haaland.

“They are in the process of making him a pure surface player. But the Haaland player is not that. I’m quite surprised that it’s being denigrated like that.”

Both players are in their early 20s, so as a result, this could be the debate that many pundits and fans will have over the next decade should they continue in this form and health permit.