Erling Haaland has been described as “the ultimate luxury footballer” by Jamie Carragher, with the former defender insisting the Manchester City star is not a world-class player.
Haaland scored 52 goals in all competitions as City won the treble last season and has 30 to his name in 2023-24, but that has not stopped him becoming the subject of fierce criticism lately.
Following a quiet performance from the Norwegian in a drab goalless draw between City and Arsenal two weeks ago, Roy Keane said Haaland’s all-round game was akin to that of a League Two player.
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Keane doubled down on those comments this week, saying the striker’s general play is “nowhere near good enough” on a weekly basis.
While City boss Pep Guardiola acknowledged Haaland can still improve on Friday, he also said there was “no chance” his team would have won last season’s Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup trophies without him.
Former Liverpool defender Carragher, though, has echoed Keane’s sentiments, saying Haaland is not yet on the level of Premier League greats Thierry Henry, Luis Suarez and Harry Kane.
In a column for The Telegraph, Carragher wrote: “Erling Haaland is the ultimate luxury footballer.
“He is undoubtedly one of the worlds greatest goalscorers but is yet to become a world-class player. To be truly world-class you need more than one, all-encompassing trait.
Half of the battle left 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/PY5NacwSU1
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) April 10, 2024
“Think of the best Premier League strikers of the last 20 years – Thierry Henry, Luis Suarez or Harry Kane – and they had or have a major influence on the biggest matches whether they scored or not.
“All of them could play for any side in the world and contribute more than an impressive strike rate.
“In general play, Haaland is not at the same level as these strikers yet, his three most recent games against top-class centre-backs confirming that for all his brilliance inside the penalty area, he is a work-in-progress out of it.
“Virgil van Dijk, William Saliba and Antonio Rudiger bullied Haaland, the much-hyped showdowns between top defenders and a goal machine were nothing of the sort. They were a mismatch rather than a match-up.”
