Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland names the three best players in the world and insists he can still improve

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has hailed Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Lionel Messi as the three best players in the world.

Bayern Munich forward Lewandowski was named the 2021 Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year earlier in the month after missing out on the Ballon d’Or award to Paris Saint-Germain superstar and Barcelona legend Messi.

Lewandowski took home the FIFA award for the second year in a row after scoring a staggering 69 goals and breaking Gerd Muller’s record for the most Bundesliga goals in a calendar year with 43.

Argentina forward Messi won his seventh Ballon d’Or after helping his country win the Copa America and scoring 40 goals in 2021.

Benzema also enjoyed a superb year, scoring 30 goals as Real Madrid narrowly missed out on the La Liga title. The France international already has 28 goals and eight assists this term.

Asked to name his top 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 on the planet over the past three seasons, scoring an impressive 80 goals in 79 games for Dortmund.

His form has caught the attention of a number of clubs – including Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich – but Haaland insists 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