Top strikers comparison: Erling Haaland compared to Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester City and Portugal defender, Ruben Dias, believes Erling Haaland has many similarities to Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of mentality and front-of- goal acumen.

Become one of the few players to play alongside two extraordinary strikers, Haaland at club level and Ronaldo at international level.

According to Dia, Haaland is currently in an extraordinary state of performance. The Norwegian striker has already scored 23 goals in all competitions in the 2025/2026 season, including two goals in Manchester City's 2-0 victory over Everton last weekend. He even came close to scoring his ninth hat-trick in the Premier League.

Haaland has scored 324 goals at the age of 25, three years faster than Ronaldo reached this number. Ronaldo currently has scored 949 goals in his career with Riyadh Victory in the Saudi Professional League.

Ruben Dias: The mental state is the same as Ronaldo

Ruben Dias said that the biggest thing in common between Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo is their way of thinking and their great desire to score goals. "It's a reflection of his mindset," Ruben Dias told reporters.

In this respect, he is very much like Ronaldo. All players want to score goals, but both of them have the ability to score constantly and never be satisfied.

He also added that his team is lucky to have a player like Haaland and is in top form. "We're excited to see Erling in a moment like this and hope to continue pushing him to break an unprecedented record," Dias said.

While reluctant to make direct comparisons, Ruben Dias admitted that mentality and talent were the keys to both men's success. "You have to ask Erling and Cristiano directly what makes them special, but obviously mentality is the main factor behind it, along with talent and many other factors," he said.

Haaland continues to make history in Manchester City

Since joining Manchester City, Haaland has continued to create history. In his first season, he scored 52 goals in all competitions and helped the team win the treble of Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup. His record of 36 goals in the Premier League in the 2022/2023 season even became a new record for the league.

When asked whether Haaland is playing better now than before, Dia cautiously replied: "I don't know if he is better now than before because he has broken the Premier League goal record before."

"He has always been excellent and at a very special level. Previous The season has been really difficult for us, but after winning so much, it's probably understandable."

With his stable performance and maturing championship mentality, Haaland seems to be on the road to challenging the highest scoring record in history, which even makes players like Ronaldo have to pay attention to him.