The 22-year-old Norwegian is a prodigy in the world of football, but even at his young age, he is already considered one of the biggest promises of today.

And as time is relentless, we are witnessing Cristiano Ronaldo's great legacy coming to an end, but, on the other hand, we are seeing the beginning of one of the names that could be the future of football.

And to project the boy's potential, we will use the legend, Cristiano Ronaldo, as a parameter to try to understand the Haaland phenomenon.

So check out this article for details on Erling Haaland, what makes him so special in a scenario with so many talents. 

Firstly, the player started his career at the modest Bryne B in 2016, where at just 16 years old he scored 18 goals in 14 games. 

However, his star really began to shine when he joined Red Bull Salzburg in 2019. There, Haaland won the Austrian Championship and an Austrian Cup.

And it was in this team that the 19-year-old boy scored in 5 consecutive games in Europe's biggest championship, the Champions League.

After that it was a matter of time before the German giant, Borussia Dortmund, bought the player for 20 million euros.

Currently, the player is 22 years old and an incredible 1.94 cm tall, despite being large, he impresses with the strength and speed he can achieve. He plays in the Center Forward position, and acts as a professional number 9.

In the position he plays, he is considered a natural goalscorer, the best defenders suffer when they play against Haaland, the boy has great finishing, and can score goals even under pressure, which makes him an excellent player.

Now enough mystery, let's talk about numbers:

The Norwegian has so far scored 225 goals in 263 games.

The number is frightening, the young man, at 22 years old, has more goals than many athletes manage to have during an entire career.

For comparison purposes, check out the goals that the following stars scored up to the age of 22:

The player at his current club, Manchester City, scored 56 goals in 46 games, and has already broken the record for goals scored in a Premier League season, and could break the mark for goals scored in a single edition of the Champions League.

This Champions League record is defended by the great Cristiano Ronaldo.

So the time has come, let's try to answer this difficult question, can Haaland surpass Cristiano Ronaldo?

The comparison is difficult, given that the players act in slightly different roles. Haaland is the ultimate finisher, the team works around him.

On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo, in addition to being a final finisher, is more adept at dribbling and creating plays through the wings.

Let's check some data for comparison purposes:

Cristiano Ronaldo: 818 goals in 1139 games.

Erling Haaland: 225 goals in 210 games

We've already seen that Haaland's goals per game average is higher than Cristiano Ronaldo's, but let's take a long-term look.

If we analyze the data at the age of 22 for both players, the Norwegian comes out ahead, but what is impressive about Cristiano Ronaldo's numbers is the player's constancy and longevity, season after season he scores a good series of goals.

CR7, even in his last spell in Italy, where he was already 33 years old, and the Juventus team was in a bad phase, he scored 101 goals in 133 games, an impressive number considering his age.

Cristiano Ronaldo: 

Besides, the Portuguese has 5 times the award for best player in the world from FIFA.

Erling Haaland: 

As we can see, when talking about titles, the distance between the two players becomes very clear, CR7 has already proven himself, there is no doubt about that, but Haaland will have a long way to go before he can be compared with the legend.

With this data we can finally clarify whether Haaland will be the new Cristiano Ronaldo, so let's go.

If we consider the current scenario where the boy presents spectacular numbers at 22 years old, he can indeed surpass CR7.

Considering that Haaland just joined a team full of stars, and is having even better numbers than those already shown in the German championship.

Therefore, it is quite possible that Haaland could be the new one, and even better than Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, something that could prevent Haaland from achieving this feat is time. We know that over time, players' physical conditioning declines, and other unforeseen events can end up harming them.

The large number of games accumulated over time can end up causing injuries and wear and tear on athletes, which can make it difficult for the boy to get there.

However, the Norwegian already has incredible potential, if he continues to maintain these good results, and is not interrupted by any injury or faces any bad phase, the ideal candidate for Cristiano Ronaldo to pass on his legacy, is already in formation, and his name is Erling Haaland.