Wayne Rooney claims Messi and Ronaldo era is over - names world's new best player | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney claims the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era has finally come to an end - and has named the footballer he believes is currently the world’s best.

The Manchester United and England legend, who is the manager of Major League Soccer outfit D.C. United, believes Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is now the greatest player on the planet.

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Haaland, 22, has been magnificent for Man City since completing his £51 million move from Borussia Dortmund last summer.

In 42 appearances for City, Haaland has scored a remarkable 48 goals - 32 of which have been scored in the Premier League.

“Erling Haaland is the best footballer in the world right now,” Rooney wrote in his latest 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.”

Who does Rooney think will win the 2023 Ballon d'Or?

Rooney has even tipped Haaland to beat Messi in the battle for the 2023 Ballon d’Or.

Messi is expected to win the prestigious individual accolade for a record-breaking eighth time later this year after inspiring Argentina to World Cup glory, but Haaland deserves it even more in Rooney’s eyes.

The former Premier League star added: “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. 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 Mbappé. When there is a talent like him around you just have to enjoy it — even if he is wearing a Manchester City shirt.

“After the Community Shield, when he was getting stick, I wrote that I had no doubts about him and that he would go on to prove the difference in the title race. I always felt he was the player who was going to take City where they needed to go.

“I was wrong about one thing, though. I said Haaland was capable of scoring a goal a game in the Premier League and in fact he has 32 goals in 28 appearances. It’s very rare to see someone quite so lethal.”

Rooney: Haaland can dominate football for next 10 years

Rooney also believes that Haaland has the potential to dominate football for the next decade, much like Messi and Ronaldo have done for the past 15 years.

“One of the things I like most about him is how different he is to nearly all modern players,” Rooney said. “Everyone wants the ball to feet these days but he wants to run off the ball in almost an old-fashioned way — run in behind and use his power to get clear, then his composure to beat the keeper.

“There’s something raw about how he plays, his hunger to score is huge. Like Messi and Ronaldo did, he could dominate the game for ten years.”