‘Nothing is comparable to Leo’ – Pep Guardiola downplays Haaland and Messi comparisons

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has claimed that there can be no comparisons to Lionel Messi as there is nobody on the level of the Argentina captain.

Since arriving from Borussia Dortmund over the summer, Haaland has scored a remarkable 19 goals in just 11 appearances across all competitions, more than any other player across Europe’s top-five leagues.

The Norwegian followed up his record-breaking hat-trick against Manchester United with a brace in City’s 5-0 Champions League win over Copenhagen on Wednesday.

Haaland is understandably in the headlines following his electric start to life at the Etihad Stadium, and the 22-year-old has been compared with a plethora of different strikers past and present.

Arguably the greatest forward to play under Guardiola is seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, who elevated his game to new heights while playing for the Catalan boss at Barcelona between 2008 and 2012.

Messi, who currently plies his trade with Paris Saint-Germain, scored 211 goals and won a total of 14 trophies with Guardiola during this period at Barca, including three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues.

Guardiola is now working with another elite forward in Haaland, but the Spaniard believes that City’s new number nine cannot be compared with Messi.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of City’s clash with Southampton on Saturday, Guardiola said: “Nothing is comparable with Leo Messi. How many new Messi’s is there ten or 15 but they all fail.

“All of the questions about Erling but the guys here accept it perfectly. Kevin [De Bruyne] is an exceptional person and he is happy to have Erling here and it goes for all the players here.”

When asked if Haaland can continue to score week after week as Messi did under his tutelage at Barcelona, Guardiola said: “Yes, the difference is that Haaland needs all his teammates, Messi did it alone.”

Guardiola has also suggested that the Norwegian can fire the Citizens to Champions League glory this term, adding: “If we play good and put a lot of balls into the box then, yeah, of course (he can make an impact), but who knows what will happen in the knockout phases?

“We saw the last Champions League games on Tuesday and Wednesday how many decisions were out of control of managers that were decisive in the result.”

Both Guardiola and Haaland are focused fully on Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Southampton, and a draw will be enough to see the Citizens climb to the top of the table above Arsenal, who lock horns with Liverpool in North London on Sunday.

Haaland heads into this weekend’s game after scoring three successive hat-tricks on home soil, with his latest treble against Man United taking his goal tally in the top flight to 14 after just eight matches.