Erling Haaland lands bragging rights over Man Utd legend as he rewrites record books

Erling Haaland's goal against Napoli means he's become the quickest player in Champions League history to score 50 goals. It is the latest piece of history claimed by the Norwegian and he assumes the record from ex-Manchester United star Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The Manchester City frontman opened the scoring in Thursday night's 2-0 win with a smart header and further underlined his status as one of Europe's elite marksman. He's bought up his half century of goals in a staggering 49 games.

Van Nistelrooy had held the record for years but it took him 62 games to score 50 times. He was prolific, particularly during his time in Manchester, and had sat top of that list. Haaland's exploits though now have him above the Dutchman and Lionel Messi, who was the third-quickest.

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Pep Guardiola said of Haalands' latest achievement: "What can I say? The numbers speak for themselves. We are lucky to have him. Just to congratulate him, because he's alongside goalscorers like van Nistelrooy, [Robert] Lewandowski, but especially the two monsters Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Messi for 20 years, for Erling to be there is unbelievable."

Unlike Van Nistelrooy, Haaland can boast a Champions League winners' medal following his success in 2023.

The striker burst onto the European scene with Red Bull Salzburg before his quality convinced Borussia Dortmund to secure his services.

He remained prolific with the German club but has seen his numbers excel since moving to Manchester. His best single-season effort came in 2022/23 when he scored 12 times in 11 games and 27 of his 50 goals have come while wearing the City blue.

Haaland has only scored the two hat-tricks on the European stage, which is the same number as Van Nistelrooy.

It means he remains some way off the record of eight which is jointly held by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - the two highest scorers in Champions League history.

Ronaldo sits as the most prolific player in Champions League history having scored 140 times across his spells at United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

Messi is 11 further back but with time on Haaland's side he has been tipped to rival the iconic duo at the top of the list.

When asked if Haaland can one day surpass Ronaldo's mark, Guardiola said: "In that rhythm, yeah. He's not injured, he could play for 10 or 12 more years, and he maintains this progression, absolutely."

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