Will Erling Haaland's record season put him in line for Ballon d'Or?

Not a week goes by without Erling Haaland scoring a goal. This season, the Norwegian striker has already broken a host of scoring records with Manchester City. Now the top scorer in the Premier League and the Champions League, he made history in his first season.

This year, the center-forward carried the Citizens to a third league title. With 36 goals in 32 starts, the Norwegian broke the record for goals in a Premier League season. A record that had been established during the 1993-1994 season.

He therefore erases Andy Cole and Alan Shearer from the books, both of whom had stopped at 34 goals with Newcastle in 1993-94 for the first and Blackburn the following season for the second. At the time, the English league had 22 teams for 42 games. It only took 31 days for Erling Haaland to break this record.

More than just a goalscorer, Erling Haaland is also an important player in Pep Guardiola's squad as he has provided seven assists, making him the Premier League's second-best assist provider and Manchester City's third-best assist provider.

His most sensational performance in the Premier League this year is, without a doubt, his masterclass against rivals Manchester United. In a whirlwind match, won 6-3 by Manchester City, the Norwegian scored three goals and delivered two assists.

Speaking of hat-tricks, the Norwegian also became the fastest player to score two hat-tricks in the Premier League as it only took him a breathtaking five games to achieve the feat. Indeed, the “cyborg” scored two consecutive “hat-tricks” against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

In the Champions League, the statistics are just as crazy with 12 goals in 10 games, before the final against Inter Milan on June 10. A crazy figure that allowed him to become the fastest player to score 25 goals in the competition.

Indeed, with 25 goals in 20 games, Erling Haaland has become the most effective young scorer in history. After 20 matches in European competitions, Kylian Mbappé had 12 goals, Lionel Messi eight, Robert Lewandowski six and Cristiano Ronaldo only one.

If he remained silent against Real Madrid in the double confrontation in the semi-finals of the Champions League, Erling Haaland still weighed in and came up against an excellent Thibaut Courtois. In 29 matches in the competition, he has scored 32 goals… more than one goal per match!

His most notable performance this season is  of course his quintuple in the round of 16 against RB Leipzig. In just 57 minutes, the “cyborg” scored five goals, equaling Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano's record in one game. The Norwegian could even have exceeded these figures but Pep Guardiola took him out on the hour mark.

In all competitions, Erling Haaland has scored 52 goals in 50 games for Manchester City. Maddening statistics, reminiscent of those of Robert Lewandowski with Bayern Munich or even those of the two monsters Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

This total of 52 goals is all the more impressive since Erling Haaland has not started in every game this year. Indeed, Pep Guardiola rested the Norwegian several times, in particular by playing his (excellent) understudy: Julian Alvarez.

However, it will take a lot more to equal Lionel Messi's single-year goalscoring record. The Argentinian had achieved the feat of scoring 91 goals in 2012. An exceptional performance that saw him win the Ballon d'Or that year.

The question now is whether Erling Haaland can claim this title next October. Indeed, if Manchester City win the Champions League - Premier League - FA Cup treble, the Norwegian will be the favorite for the Ballon d'Or.

However, Erling Haaland could be hindered in his quest by… his own teammate Kevin de Bruyne! Yes, if the striker is so prolific this season, it is largely thanks to the Belgian, who is carrying out a very high-level 2022-2023 exercise.

With seven goals and 16 assists this season in the Premier League, Kevin de Bruyne is probably Manchester City's most important player. The midfielder will be Erling Haaland's main rival along with Lionel Messi, who won the World Cup in 2022.