With Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the twilight years of their respective careers, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are widely considered to be the greatest attacking players on the planet.
And the duo will have the chance to settle the argument as to who is the better player, with Manchester City set to lock horns with Real Madrid in the Champions League play-offs.
City have struggled this season in the Premier League and it’s been a similar story in Europe, too.
Yet despite winning just three of their eight matches, and amassing 11 points, their hopes of glory remain alive.
Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will do battle when Man City lock horns with Real Madrid in the Champions League
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Haaland has been nothing short of sensational since joining City from Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund back in the summer transfer window of 2023.
His goalscoring record speaks for itself: 52 goals in 2022/23, 38 in 23/24 and, so far, 24 in 32 games in the 24/25 season.
But still, there are those who doubt the Norway international. Some claim he is too static and too isolated at the tip of City’s attack, while others believe he doesn’t do enough to involve himself in matches.
Haaland, if he produces against Real Madrid, will certainly silence some of his doubters.
Then there’s Mbappe.
The France international has long been a household name and, when he joined Real Madrid back in the summer, everybody expected him to hit the ground running.
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Yet Mbappe’s performances have been inconsistent, despite his recent improvement. He isn’t yet the heir to Ronaldo’s throne and Los Blancos are still waiting for bang their buck given they’re paying him £250,000.
While he’s blown hot and cold at the Bernabeu, however, upstaging Haaland would be a magical way of making his mark in the Champions League in a way he’s never really done before.
Ronaldo and Messi, the two greatest footballers of all time, met each other six times in the Champions League during their epic rivalry.
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Erling Haaland scored twice for Borussia Dortmund against PSG before Kylian Mbappe’s side knocked them out in the return leg in 2020
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As for Haaland and Mbappe, this will be the third time they do battle.
It was the City striker who hit the ground running in their rivalry, scoring twice for Borussia Dortmund as they beat Mbappe’s Paris Saint-Germain in 2020.
But it was the Frenchman who had the last laugh, with PSG sending Dortmund out of the competition with a 2-0 victory in the return leg after strikes from Neymar and Juan Bernat.
Kylian Mbappe has blown hot and cold for Real Madrid since joining from PSG in the summer
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Some fans believe Haaland is better. For others, it’s Mbappe.
The argument could be about to be settle, however, with Man City’s clash with Real Madrid due to capture the imagination of every football fan around the world.
Champions League draw in full:
Brest vs PSG
Clubs Brugge vs Atalanta
Man City vs Real Madrid
Juventus vs PSV
Monaco vs Benfica
Sporting vs Borussia Dortmund
Celtic vs Bayern Munich
Feyenoord vs AC Milan