Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has insisted that free-scoring striker Erling Haaland cannot yet be compared to Lionel Messi, despite his prolific form in the 2022/23 campaign so far.
The Norwegian sensation has enjoyed a blistering start to life in England, having already scored 14 goals in eight Premier League matches, including hat-tricks against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and most recently Manchester United.
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The three hat-tricks marked a Premier League record, with the marksman becoming the first player in the division's history to score a treble in three consecutive home matches.
The 22-year-old is also the top goalscorer in Europe's top five leagues so far in this campaign, outscoring the likes of Robert Lewandowski in LaLiga and Neymar in Ligue 1.
However, despite averaging at least a goal every game across all competitions, his manager Guardiola has now explained why the former Borussia Dortmund centre-forward is not yet on the level of Messi, whose own prolific scoring form under the Spanish boss at FC Barcelona had many expecting him to score in every match he played.
Following City's stunning 6-3 win in the Manchester derby on Sunday, the 51-year-old was asked if he believes Haaland will score in every fixture he plays similar to the way the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner did under him.
"The difference is, maybe, that Erling needs all his mates to do it. It is unbelievable," Guardiola responded, per SPORTbible.
"[But] Messi had the ability himself to do it."
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Under Guardiola, the Argentina captain made 219 appearances during a glittering spell at Barca, scoring 211 goals and contributing a further 94 assists, the most the 35-year-old has scored under any manager in his career, per Transfermarkt.
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