How long until Haaland breaks the records set by Messi, Ronaldo?

But what needs to be noted is that Messi and Ronaldo never were their sides’ central strikers during their early years. Ronaldo was used more as a winger at Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, while Messi was part of an attacking triumvirate at Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.

Both Messi and Ronaldo reached the peak of their powers at a later stage in their career. 

Messi was at his productive best in 2012, when he scored 91 goals in the calendar year, a tally Haaland would find hard to break even at his current break-neck pace. 

Ronaldo’s strike rate is marked by his longevity, with the current Al Nassr attacker finding the net close to 400 times after turning 30. 

On the international front, Ronaldo leads the tally with 122 goals in 198 appearances. Even though Haaland scores at a much higher rate than the Portuguese, his chances of trumping Ronaldo will be hampered by Norway’s stature as an international side, having last qualified for the World Cup in 1998 and the Euros in 2000. 

Haaland’s goal-scoring rate, at the moment, is phenomenal. If he maintains it and continues to play for a dominant side like City, it wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect him to break Messi’s and Ronaldo’s records. 

With Messi and Ronaldo – the latter in particular — having a few more goal scoring seasons in their tanks, the duo can get close to 900 goals or beyond.

At a hypothetical level, if Haaland plays an average of 60 games a year, for the next 15 seasons, he would get to 938 career goals. 

Haaland has started better than anyone in the chase to the intimidating heap of records set by Messi and Ronaldo. But the ascend will only get tougher with time. If the Norwegian plays for the right club and manages his injuries, it isn’t going to be a wild chase.