Kylian Mbappe vs Erling Haaland: Who will be the next GOAT?

While football fans around the globe will be melancholic to see the Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi era of domestic and international football slowly but inevitably fade away, there’s no doubt the future of the game at the highest level is in good hands.

Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala, Pedri and Bukayo Saka are some of the names already flirting with the best of the best despite their tender age. However, arguably two marginally older names are beginning to rise above the others: PSG’s Kylian Mbappe and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.

Both Mbappe and Haaland appear to be at the pinnacle of their powers based on this season’s performances, and at the age of 24 and 22 respectively, are likely to dominate the football landscape for years to come.

But which one of these two generational talents holds the edge on his counterpart? We break down the stats behind both players below.

Freakish Haaland continues to rewrite goalscoring records

There were certainly doubts when Erling Haaland, who was 21 at the time, agreed a deal in advance to join Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022. The prospect of an inexperienced and old-school number nine being tasked with spearheading a famously slick and fluid Pep Guardiola attacking force was met with scepticism, particularly when the Norwegian blazed over an open goal on his debut against Liverpool in the Community Shield.

But the former RB Salzburg striker swiftly quietened his critics, sensationally netting 15 goals in his opening 10 Premier League games, including hattricks against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United. Haaland currently has 42 goals from 37 games this season and 28 in the Premier League – seven clear of second-place Harry Kane.

Fans already seem to be somewhat desensitised to the 22-year-old breaking every domestic and European goalscoring record that crosses his tracks – a testament to the sheer scale of his achievements in such a short career – and it perhaps the main attribute he holds over Kylian Mbappe.

Haaland has netted 198 in 243 career games for both club and country, scoring an average of 0.81 goals per game, while the Frenchman has amassed 272 strikes from a slightly longer career of 383 appearances at a likewise remarkable average of 0.71 goals per game. The fact Mbappe is a winger may be a factor in his marginally lower goalscoring rate, but Haaland currently holds the bragging rights in terms of putting the ball in the back of the net.

Big-game-player Mbappe already a French legend

At the age of just 24, Kylian Mbappe is truly already one of football’s global superstars. After his breakthrough season in Ligue 1 at the age of just 17 – eventually scoring 27 goals in 60 games for Monaco before an initial loan transfer to French giants PSG – Mbappe has gone onto win a huge 11 major trophies for club and country, including the FIFA World Cup in 2018. By contrast, Haaland has won 3 major trophies in his admittedly more limited career so far.

Mbappe’s performances in big games seem to be what separates the Parisian forward from other players at the moment. He has led his nation to two World Cup Finals already – scoring four goals across those two games – and has netted a hattrick at the Camp Nou in the Champions League.

While the trophy with the big ears has alluded him in his short career thus far, most presume a move away from the French champions, who have never won the competition in their history, could be the catalyst for Mbappe to add the biggest club trophy in the world to his cabinet. Real Madrid have often been touted as potential suitors, with fans eager to see how the Frenchman fares outside the confines of Ligue 1.

Mbappe on top… for now

It’s difficult, for now at least, to argue with the assertion than Kylian Mbappe is the natural successor to the Greatest Of All Time throne abstained by the ageing Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. However, that could easily change with time.

Erling Haaland is undoubtedly the superior goalscorer, but Mbappe seems a more complete player at the moment. Transfermarkt calculates the value of the Frenchman to be a colossal £158m, making him the most valuable player on the planet at the moment. Haaland finds himself narrowly behind on the list at £150m and the pair make up the two most expensive assets in world football at the moment.

Haaland has the advantage of arguably operating within a better-run club, with Manchester City still on course to compete for the Champions League and the Premier League – a more prestigious domestic league than Ligue 1. Only time will tell which talent will amass more Ballon D’Or gongs, but needless to say, the duo will undoubtedly share the podium on several occasions.