Erling Haaland on pace to surpass Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in Champions League

On Tuesday night, Erling Braut Haaland became just the third player ever to score five goals in a single Champions League match, following on from Luiz Adriano and Lionel Messi. It isn’t the only record of the little Argentine’s that Haaland is coming for.

Haaland is currently on 37 goals in 32 Champions League games, showing the particular affinity the Norwegian has with the competition. As per Marca, he was already in the top 20 goalscorers in Champions League history, surpassing Arjen Robben on 33. He has also broken the single season record for goals for Manchester City, with 39 in 37 games.

Haaland is also the quickest and the youngest player to 30 goals in the Champions League. He achieved it in just 25 games, beating Lionel Messi’s 48 at almost double the pace. The previous record was set by Ruud van Nistlerooij with 34.

The big Norwegian has rached the feat at 22 and 236 days, over half a year quicker than Messi, who did so at 23 and 131 days.

Currently Messi is on 129 goals, with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the way on 141. Whereas previously the pair had looked as if they would set records to hold for decades, if Haaland can continue his form, then those records might not last a decade.

It perhaps also shows the growing inequality in European football. While Haaland has not been playing for Manchester City for long, the fact that the bigger teams are often abe to run up the score on other sides may be a factor in these statistics going forward.