Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland has named Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Lionel Messi as the three best players in the world football.
Lewandowski was named the 2021 Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year this month after missing out on the Ballon d’Or award to Paris Saint-Germain star and Barcelona legend Messi.
Lewandowski took home the FIFA award for the second year in a row after scoring an incredible 69 goals and breaking Gerd Muller’s record for the most Bundesliga goals in a calendar year with 43.
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Messi won his seventh Ballon d’Or after helping his country, Argentina win the Copa America and scoring 40 goals in 2021.
Benzema also enjoyed a good year, scoring 30 goals as Real Madrid missed out on the La Liga title. The France international already has 28 goals and eight assists this campaign.
Asked to name his best three players of 2021, Haaland told Sky Sports: ‘That’s a good question. I think you have to say Lewandowski is number one.
‘And then for me you have Benzema, he’s also been amazing, but Messi is also outstanding. So Benzema and Messi shared second and third place.’
Haaland has established himself as one of the best players in the world over the past three seasons, scoring 80 goals in 79 games for Dortmund.
His form has caught the attention of several clubs – including Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern – but Haaland says he can still improve on ‘every’ aspect of his game.
‘I think I can improve on everything,’ the 21-year-old Norway international said. ‘If you say I am good at finishing, I can improve my finishing a lot. I can become faster, so I can improve that. I can become stronger, so I can improve that.
‘But if I should improve one thing, it would be to not get injured, because if I am not injured I will play a lot more games and I will deliver even better.
‘If you were to ask what my goals are for 2022, it is to not be injured, and the goals for the rest of my career are not be injured. That’s the main thing.’
Haaland suffered an injury during Dortmund’s 3-2 victory over Hoffenheim last week but has played down fears he could be set for an more spell on the sidelines.
Asked about his recovery, Haaland added: ‘It’s going good, I’m training good and I’ll soon be back.’
