Harry Maguire snubs Erling Haaland and reveals the best striker he has ever come up against | OneFootball

Manchester United’s Harry Maguire has picked England legend Wayne Rooney over Manchester City’s Erling Haaland as the best striker he has ever faced.

Harry Maguire is coming off one of his most consistent recent campaigns in a Manchester United shirt, with the 33-year-old having been a regular presence in a side that finished third in the Premier League under Michael Carrick last season – a run of form that was however insufficient to earn him a place in Thomas Tuchel‘s England FIFA World Cup squad.

Meanwhile, fresh from a FA Cup and Carabao Cup double winning season in Pep Guardiola‘s final campaign at the Etihad Stadium, Haaland made an extraordinary impact on the World Cup, scoring seven goals for Norway and leading them to the quarter-finals before bowing out to eventual champions Spain.

Haaland’s performances in North America only added to the debate surrounding his standing in the game, with the City striker’s heroics coming alongside the club form that has already made him the fastest player in history to reach 100 Premier League goals.

Maguire, as one of the defenders who has faced Haaland most regularly in recent seasons across domestic football, is well-placed to offer a first-hand perspective on the Leeds-born forward’s qualities.

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In conversation with Dagbladet, the Manchester United defender showered praise on the 26-year-old striker, who has established himself as arguably the best number nine in world football since joining City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.

“(Erling) Haaland is a fantastic footballer,” Maguire said, as relayed by Sport Witness. “You can see that in his statistics and he was extremely good in the World Cup. When you play against him, you can’t afford to turn it off and give him even a little moment.”

However, Maguire showed his affiliation for the red side of Manchester when asked to name the best striker he has ever faced. “It has to be Wayne Rooney,” the former Leicester City man added on his greatest-ever opponent.

The comparison between Haaland and Rooney is one that has generated significant debate in English football over recent years, with the former on course to threaten the all-time goal record should he maintain his extraordinary scoring pace for another four or five seasons at City.

What Maguire’s verdict tells us about Haaland’s standing

Maguire’s acknowledgement of Haaland as the toughest striker he has faced is itself a meaningful endorsement from a player who has lined up against the Premier League’s finest over more than a decade at the top level.

That he stops short of calling Haaland the greatest reflects the natural weight that legacy and longevity carry in these comparisons – Rooney’s decade-plus of consistent top-level performance across multiple clubs giving him an argument that a player still in the prime of a career as dominant as Haaland’s has not yet fully made in those terms.

For Manchester City supporters watching Haaland prepare for his first season under Enzo Maresca, the debate is one that may feel premature – and one that, if the Norway striker maintains his current trajectory, may look very different in a few years’ time.