Haaland the superstar

[I'm With Stupid]

Aguero was a superstar.

Jack Grealish has lots of adoring fans (admittedly not a superstar yet)

Mahrez is hero worshipped by many.

Yaya was too.

But Haaland is possibly going to be the next level above, even the greatest we’ve had playing for us.

All of those are superstars to particular groups of people. But Haaland is the sort of player, like Messi or Ronaldo, where people support the player more than the team they play for. And it's worldwide.

A couple of years ago, my mate did a charity fundraiser to buy a bunch of football shirts for some refugee kids. They were from Myanmar living in Malaysia and they could choose any shirt they wanted. They exclusively chose Man Utd, PSG, Argentina or Portugal. Basically they all chose whoever Ronaldo or Messi were playing for at the time (realistically, none of these kids remember Man Utd being good). If we do that again in a year or so, it'll almost certainly be City and PSG because of Haaland and Mbappe.

 

[stonerblue]

Just been watching tunnel cam and the reverence the kids show, the excitement to see him, the looks of awe in their eyes is quite wonderful to see. Kids grow up wanting to be footballers, how many in the playgrounds of the UK are now Erling, copying his goal celebrations and wanting to be him. We have been fortunate over the years to see some greats play for our beloved club, I grew up in awe of Colin Bell, if i was a kid today i really think i would want to be Haaland. He has charisma, he is cool, he is a rock star in a City shirt.

Is he therefore our first genuine superstar?

By that I mean a player that transcends club loyalty, he is genuinely adored for being him by fans of other teams. I met a couple of lads earlier this season who had no love of City but where at the Etihad to see Haaland in the flesh. He is outrageous in his scoring feats, every stat is off the scale.

Is he really in the same bracket as Messi and Ronaldo?

Or is it possible he will eventually be seen as greater as them?

I'm 58 and have been going to City for forty three years. I have never seen anyone like Haaland in all that time. His effect off the pitch is staggering and yes, i know rag dads who've taken their kids to Eastlands purely to see Haaland in the flesh.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

He’s already the biggest star we’ve ever had on the world stage. I was travelling in Egypt in the autumn, where every shop sells fake shirts. These shirts always have a player name on the back because that’s what a lot of foreign fans are buying, the player’s shirt and not the clubs. Every shop had Haaland alongside Messi, Ronaldo, MBappe and Sala.

Youve to remember that outside of England that’s how most kids are now: fans of players as much as clubs.

 

[r.soleofsalford]

Yeah, my cousins kids have been pretty much brainwashed to be rags by their dad, but they're now Haaland fans as well.

Seems weird, but I'm not sure their rag dad can stop them converting, especially when most of the rest of the family are blues too.

Somebody needs to take those kids to watch a city game.

 

[Gorton_Tubster]

Having a superstar has changed our club. It's almost like all the shit they throw at us doesn't matter as much because fans live a superstar.

It's certainly made me think Ronaldo would have been a good purchase, though still glad he didn't come here.

Imagine us buying vinicious junior in future, the impact would be the same.

Maybe we've turned a corner as a club.

 

[Sky Blue]

My soon to be 3yr old grandson has Haaland on the back of his City shirt. He's always singing "Haaland, Haaland, he's a blue like his dad now he's at the Etihad"...... Cracks me up every time! Kids love Big Erl.

 

[Milesvk]

I bet a lot of young opposition fans who go to the games will want to see haaland more than their own players. I reckon, sadly he will get to messi ronaldo levels if he goes to Madrid. But he is up there with mbappe in terms of superstardom at the moment, I think mbappe won't get to the levels of messi until he goes to Madrid. A Burnley fan at work went to the game at the weekend and the first thing he talked about was how much of a beast Haaland is.

 

[ancoats]

I will go one better with he is SUPERNOVA

A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star

 

[Sir peace frog]

Messi and Ronaldo have had longevity, in the fact that they were at the top for sooo long. When they were 22, they were just starting out, and not hitting anywhere like the same numbers as Halaand. And they weren't as famous as Halaand is now when they were the same age. Haaland has come out of the traps like a greyhound at full pace, but I doubt from his size that he will be as quick when he is pushing 30, so he will have to adapt his game and score different types of goals, free kicks, shots from outside the box, or become a heading specialist, using his height. Only time will tell, but it is only early days when you consider Messi just lifted the world cup at the age of 35.

eeerm

At 22 years old, Messi won the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award, both times by the biggest voting margin in each trophy's history.

 

[Manchester33]

eeerm

At 22 years old, Messi won the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award, both times by the biggest voting margin in each trophy's history.

That's a fair point, but I think it would be hard to argue against Haaland being the best player in the world this season.
Messi will win it again (because it's a popularity contest now), but you could definitely argue that Haaland's season (so far) ranks above many Ballon d'Or winning years (Michael Owen springs to mind).