Former Manchester United and England forward Wayne Rooney believes the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is over and says Erling Haaland is now the best player in the world.
Haaland has scored 47 goals already for Manchester City this season, including 32 in the Premier League, as he continues to break records in his debut campaign in English football.
"Erling Haaland is the best footballer in the world right now," Rooney said in his column for The Times.
"Lionel Messi is the greatest but, at this moment, nobody is playing better than a striker who — even though I broke records in that position myself — takes my breath away with the levels he's reaching.
"He’s the best in the world because of the numbers he's posting, the performances he's putting in and the mentality he shows."
Haaland and City are still on for a possible treble in 2022-23 and Rooney sees the Norwegian as the leading contender for this year's Ballon d'Or.
"If you’re looking at who is going to win the Ballon d’Or then it has got to be him, providing he keeps up his form of this season," he wrote. "And why wouldn't he? A record of 224 goals in 264 games is the mark of a player whose standards don’t drop.
“We've had the era of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, now this is his time, the era of Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. When there is a talent like him around you just have to enjoy it — even if he is wearing a Manchester City shirt."
