Pep Guardiola says there is ‘no comparison’ between Haaland and Messi: “They all fail”

Of late, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is having to face a lot of questions with regard to comparisons between his former Barcelona protege Lionel Messi and current ward, Erling Haaland.

It was under Guardiola’s tenure as the manager of Barcelona that Messi developed into a world-conquering star, leading the team to a host of titles and trophies, along with the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and several others.

Now, Guardiola has found yet another attacking sensation at his disposal in the form of Haaland.

Signed from Borussia Dortmund this past summer, the Norwegian international has hit the ground running at the Etihad Stadium. Indeed, Haaland has already plundered 19 goals in just 12 matches across all competitions. His exploits under Guardiola have eventually led to comparisons with Messi.

However, the Catalan tactician has claimed that there can be no comparisons to Messi as there is nobody on the level of the Argentina captain.

“Nothing is comparable with Leo Messi. How many new Messi’s is there ten or 15 but they all fail,” Guardiola said in a recent press conference. (h/t Manchester Evening News).

These comments just a week after the Man City manager was asked if he expected the 22-year-old to score in each game as he did with Messi at Barcelona

In response, Guardiola had said: “Yes, the difference is that Haaland needs all his teammates, Messi did it alone.”

The former Barcelona manager has time and again iterated that he thinks Messi is the best footballer of all time and there is nobody like the 35-year-old superstar, who is enjoying a fine start to the season at Paris Saint-Germain.

And despite Haaland’s exceptional start to life as a Manchester City player, Guardiola thinks that he still has a long way to go to warrant comparisons with Messi, who is being tipped to return to Barcelona in the summer of 2023.