Erling Haaland vs Kylian Mbappe: All signs are pointing towards Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe being the heirs to the thrones of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The youngsters have had blazing starts to their careers and are looking like they may actually be able to live up to expectations, even though, we have to say, the shoes of Messi and Ronaldo are incredibly huge to fill.
Erling Haaland vs Kylian Mbappe
Anyway, the question today is, which one of these players is better? And while the comments are always open for you to air your opinions, in this article, we will be listening to the opinions of the experts. Of Haaland and Mbappe, who do coaches think is better?
1. Pep Guardiola
You can guess whose side Pep is on. He just snatched Haaland and shot him straight to the top of the wage hierarchy at City, so you know he really values the Norwegian.
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But even before he signed him, he had always admired the lad. City had to go against Haaland twice on their way to the Champions League final last year, and although he didn’t score, he set up a goal and Pep was really impressed by his general play. Here’s what Pep had to say about Haaland:
“I would say this player is almost unstoppable and the best way to defend against these talented players is to not let them have the ball… He is a good player not just because he is fast, the quality of his first control, how he links with his mates, strong in the air, and good finishing. He’s a top-class player – top class – and will be stronger in the future.”
Guess it’s pretty obvious who Pep’s vote is going to. So, that’s 1-nil in favor of Haaland.
2. Jurgen Klopp
Klopp just completed the signing of another young striker in Darwin Nunez, but that didn’t stop him from admiring his rival’s new acquisition. After City announced the signing of Haaland, here’s what the Liverpool boss said:
“Good player… I think Erling will realize all of a sudden that he can score a lot of goals on the second post. He will love that. There will be other situations where he’s a real beast. He’s been injured a couple of times at Dortmund but he’s a real beast. Unfortunately, a really good signing.”
How many times do you hear coaches sing the praises of a player their biggest rivals just signed? Guess that’s just how much Klopp admires Haaland.
2-nil now in favor of Haaland.
3. Didier Deschamps
Do we even need to say anything here? Kylian Mbappe was one of the main players who helped Deschamps become one of the very few people to win the World Cup both as player and as coach in 2018. Of course, he doesn’t think anybody is better than him. When asked about the PSG man, Deschamps said:
“Kylian is not your average player. He does things which are not normal. I’m very lucky that he is in the French national team.”
To show you how much the France boss admires Mbappe, when he was asked about the 23-year-old in comparison to Lionel Messi, here’s what he said:
“I think they’re in the same category even though Kylian is really young.”
Really bold statement to make, isn’t it? But that just goes to show you how much he values Mbappe.
With that, Mbappe has drawn one back, so it’s now 1-2.
4. Mauricio Pochettino
This is another pretty obvious one. After having worked with him for 2 years, PSG’s outgoing coach definitely thinks Mbappe is one of the best players in the world. Surely, he values him above Haaland.
When asked about the Frenchman, Poch said:
“I’ve been saying that he’s incredibly mature despite his youth and he’s one of the best in the world.”
Now, we’re back where we started, 2 top coaches for Haaland and 2 top coaches for Mbappe. Let’s keep going.
5. Hugo Broos
The Belgian manager who is currently in charge of the South African national team thinks Mbappe is too good for one person. As far as he is concerned, if you have Mbappe on your team, you’re playing with 12 men.
Here’s what Broos had to say after his team suffered a 5-nil trouncing at the hands of Les Bleus, with Mbappe scoring 2 and setting up 1:
“I was a little bit angry at my colleague that he started Mbappe today and not on Friday. He is a great player and there are much better defenders who have suffered against him. You can’t really neutralize him. He’s quick, he’s technically good, and he can score, so if you have such a player in your team, you play with 12. France is already so good and they played with 12 against us so you know how difficult it was for us today.”
No more sincere words have been spoken after a loss. So, now we have Mbappe in the lead for the first time – 2-3.
6. Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti voted Mbappe. The Italian currently coaches Karim Benzema, but just this year, he called Kylian Mbappe the best player in Europe. He said:
“Mbappe is the best player in European football. He is unstoppable, we have tried to control him… but he is a player who always invents something.”
No wonder he and the Madrid president tried all they could to bring him over to Santiago Bernabeu this summer. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out for them.
Scoreline is now 2-4 in favor of Mbappe.
7. Unai Emery
Emery was the manager in charge when Mbappe joined PSG, so what do you think? He watched the Frenchman grow and attested to his insane talent and his desire to develop himself and also help the team grow.
So, Emery’s vote goes to Mbappe and the World Cup winner extends his lead to 3. Now, 2-5 in favor of Mbappe.
8. Marco Rose
Rose coached Haaland both at Salzburg and at Dortmund, and he has nothing but beautiful things to say about him. As far as Marco is concerned, Haaland is out of this world, here’s what the former Dortmund manager had to say about the new City man:
“Erling Haaland is a rocket. It doesn’t surprise me how successful we were with him in Salzburg. How he performed, how he dealt with setbacks…that was extraordinary.”
Thanks in part to Haaland, Marco Rose never lost a home game throughout his time at Salzburg.
So, his vote definitely goes to the Norwegian, and now it’s 3-5, still in favor of Mbappe.
9. Jesse Marsch
Jesse Marsch took over from Marco Rose at Salzburg, and there he had the honor of coaching Erling Haaland. And now, years after they both parted ways after Haaland left Austria, Marsch still thinks of the Norwegian as incredible.
Here’s what he said when he found out that the 22-year-old would be joining City:
“Erling Haaland is destined to be one of the best players in the world, it’s his quality but it’s also his talent. I wish he was coming back home here to Leeds – this is his birthplace. But I understand the decision for him to go to Man City, it’ll be interesting. He’s an explosive player in transition…he can play any style of play, but certainly, I believe he makes Man City, the best team in the world, even better. Credit to them for getting that done. I always wish the best for Erling, he’s an incredible human being.”
We don’t need the electoral college to tell us that Marsch’s vote goes to Haaland. It’s now 4-5 in favor of Mbappe. Oh, it’s getting tight again.
10. Jose Mourinho
We all know how very expressive Mourinho is; if he likes a player, you will know. And with all his experience coaching the greatest of the greats, he is one person whose words on players you definitely have to value. And the Roma boss thinks that the only person that can be compared to Kylian Mbappe is Ronaldo Nazario.
When asked about the French World Cup winner, here’s what he had to say:
“Mbappe’s playing style, what he can do in a football game; it’s really special. When you look at the specificity of his qualities, he is really different from other players. The only player that comes to my memory is Ronaldo Nazario. They are players with unique qualities. When you play against them, you are afraid.”
Mourinho took the conversation completely away from Mbappe vs. Haaland to Mbappe vs. Ronaldo. Need we say more?
Mbappe extends the lead again – 4-6.
11. Marcelo Bielsa
Bielsa, the coach of coaches, pitches his tent with Erling Haaland. He admires the lad so much that, back when he was head coach at Leeds, he told his own striker, Patrick Bamford, who is 28, by the way, to go and learn from Haaland.
That would mean that he sees the Norwegian as the ideal striker. Here’s what the Argentinian boss said back then:
“I thought if he observed what Haaland does, it would be useful for him. Imitation is a key element for the improvement of a player.”
So, Bielsa’s vote surely goes to Haaland, and that leaves us at Erling Haaland 5 – 6 Kylian Mbappe.
We stop there for today, and Kylian Mbappe emerges winner in what was a really tight battle. But let’s see who now wins according to you guys.
Get in the comments and reply with the name of the player you think is better – Mbappe or Haaland? We will be keeping tabs.
