Pressed on whether Haaland had truly reached Messi and Ronaldo’s level, Guardiola didn’t hesitate.
“Have you seen his numbers? Of course,” he said. “The difference is that Messi and Cristiano did it for 15 years, and they’re still scoring in the United States and Saudi Arabia. But yes, he’s at that level. The way he struck that first goal… he knows he’s going to score. He has that hunger. It’s incredible to work with him. Sometimes I’m tough on him, I tell him he has to improve, but he’s open to that, and not every player is. Without him, it would be very hard.”