Move aside Messi vs Ronaldo: Stats suggest Mbappe vs Haaland couldn't be closer
The age old debate of Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo finally appears to be moving aside for a new clash of the titans to take centre stage. They may not have overtaken the long-standing dominant duo just yet, but there is already the sense of a brewing rivalry between Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
Stretching back to March of last year, just before football came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mbappe took to Instgram Live to mock Haaland's meditation celebration as PSG overturned a first leg defeat to Dortmund inflicted by the Norwegian. While the Frenchman had been earmarked as the next big talent in world football and a future Ballon d'Or winner for some time, Haaland was the new kid on the block sending shockwaves through the game.
Fast forward a year and the pair are still stealing headlines and breaking records. Last month Kylian Mbappe lit up the Camp Nou in what many labelled a changing of the guard up against Messi, before Haaland became the youngest player to reach 20 Champions League goals a matter of weeks later, breaking Mbappe's record by almost a year and a half. More impressively, he managed the feat in ten games fewer than any other player in the tournaments history, requiring just 14 appearances.
Less than two weeks on and Mbappe has written himself into the Ligue 1 record books by becoming the youngest player in the division's history to reach 100 goals, all by the age of 22. Both scored braces at the weekend to join Messi, Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski in reaching 20 league goals for the season, and the battle for supremacy between the two only looks set build.
Two very different players, much like Ronaldo and Messi, Haaland's game is all about finishing and his goal threat in the box, while Mbappe often does his best work outside of it, running at defenders with his electric pace. In that sense, with the question of 'which would you rather have at your club' becoming increasingly common, any answer is always likely to come down to exactly what type of forward said club needs. However, in terms of their overall statistical performance this season, there is quite simply no separating the two.
Indeed, both players have an identical WhoScored.com rating in Ligue 1 (Mbappe) and the Bundesliga (Haaland) respectively this season, at 7.61. From 1866 minutes, Mbappe has 20 goals and six assists, while from 1782, Haaland has 21 goals and four assists. Both have won five WhoScored man of the match awards in that time, and while as you'd expect, Mbappe completes dribbles far more frequnetly (3.5 per 90 to Haaland's 1 per 90), the Dortmund hitman is the more clinical.
A conversion rate of 30.9 per cent is remarkably high, making Mbappe's incredibly impressive 26.7 per cent seem somewhat modest by comparison. There isn't a huge difference in chance creation, with Mbappe shading key passes at 1.2 per 90 to Haaland's 1, but as mentioned the latter spends significantly more of his time in the box.
While neither really compare stylistically to Leo Messi, both arguably have similarities to Cristiano Ronaldo, just at different stages of his career. Mbappe's pace and running power with the ball is akin to that of late Manchester United era Ronaldo, with the goal return to match. Meanwhile Haaland is more like the Portugal icon since he did the vast majority of his work in the opposition box, albeit needing substantially fewer shots to rack up alarming tallies. In truth, Robert Lewandowski is a stronger match in that sense.
Where both Mbappe and Haaland, to some at least, still have to prove themselves is by moving to a stronger league, and the futures of both are very much up in the air. Wage demands realistically block Mbappe from making a move to any team that isn't called Real Madrid, while the feeling is that Haaland would be content to stay with Dortmund for one more year provided that they can secure Champions League football.
Fail to do so and it's Haaland that will more likely be silencing any doubters with a move to what most would argue is a stronger league, be that in England or Spain. Given the ease he has made the steps in his career to date, you'd suggest it's a challenge he would take in his enormous stride.
The only crying shame is we won't get to see both in action over the summer after Norway failed to make the cut for Euro 2020. Before then, we will have to wait and see which finishes the season stronger to answer the question as to which has enjoyed the stronger league campaign. As of now it's neck and neck.
