Wayne Rooney claimed Messi and Ronaldo era ended in 2023, named world’s new best player

• Wayne Rooney said the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era had come to an end in 2023.
• Rooney expressed his belief that Erling Haaland had the potential to dominate football for the next 10 years.
• Kylian Mbappe was also named by Rooney as the player who, along with Haaland, will dominate the sport’s next era.

Wayne Rooney claimed the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era finally came to an end in 2023, and named the player he felt deserved to be called the best footballer on the planet.

The Manchester United and England legend, who has endured a topsy-turvy spell in management over the past couple of years, expressed his belief that Manchester City striker Erling Haaland had become the world’s greatest player. Haaland, 23, has been magnificent for Man City since completing his £51 million move from Borussia Dortmund.

In 88 appearances for City, at the time of writing, the Norwegian has scored a remarkable 81 goals – 54 of which have been scored in the Premier League. During his maiden campaign with the Citizens, Haaland broke the record for most goals in a Premier League campaign (36 goals in 35 games) and inspired his side to an historic treble.

Rooney: Why Haaland is World’s Best Player

Hailed his numbers, performances, and mentality

“Erling Haaland is the best footballer in the world right now,” Rooney wrote in a column for The Times in April 2023.

“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.”

Rooney: It’s the Era of Haaland and Mbappe

Man Utd legend said Messi and Ronaldo era had ended

Rooney tipped Haaland to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or and proclaimed the Messi and Ronaldo era as over. Man Utd’s all-time leading goalscorer also expressed his belief that the footballing landscape over the coming years would be dominated by City’s prolific forward and France star Kylian Mbappe. He continued:

“We’ve had the era of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, now this is his time, the era of Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. When there is a talent like him around you just have to enjoy it — even if he is wearing a Manchester City shirt.”

Rooney added that he had complete faith in Haaland from the start, even after the striker received criticism following an unconvincing performance against Liverpool at Wembley in August 2022. He added: “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.”

‘Haaland is different to nearly all modern players’

Rooney also said that Haaland has the potential to dominate football for the next decade, much like Messi and Ronaldo had done for the previous 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.”

Haaland is a contender – but may not be number one right now

While Haaland was a little unfortunate to miss out on the 2023 Ballon d’Or award, it’s hard to say that Messi didn’t deserve to win the prestigious individual accolade for a record-breaking eighth time due to his masterful performances en route to inspiring Argentina to glory at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Messi, who turns 37 in June, is still a magnificent player (as well as the greatest of all time, in the eyes of many) but is no longer widely regarded as the world’s best footballer, mainly due to the fact he’s now plying his trade in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami.

We recently placed Messi seventh on our list of the world’s best players in 2024, with Ronaldo (who currently plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia) in 14th spot. As for Haaland, the Norwegian currently finds himself third in our rankings, behind Man City teammate Rodri in second, and his former Borussia Dortmund teammate Jude Bellingham, who has been exceptional during his debut season with Real Madrid so far.

The Norway international hasn’t always been at his clinical best during the opening months of 2024, but don’t bet against him rediscovering his top form between now and the end of the campaign. Rooney’s prediction that Haaland will dominate football for the next 10 years remains a strong possibility.