Mbappe, Haaland, Messi, Ronaldo: Stats compare their 2021/2022 seasons

The 2021/2022 season might have seen a changing of the guard when it comes to the greatest football players in the world.

The God-like status of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has began to diminish. Not for their past exploits of course, for those they were always be remembered as the greatest of their era, but when it comes to the present day they are no longer untouchable.

The new kids on the block in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are putting up frightening numbers as they attempt to cement their own special legacy in the game.

“At this moment in time, for the first time in years, if you asked people which player in the world they would sign if I could only pick one, no one would say Messi or Ronaldo, they would likely say Mbappe, Haaland, Mohamed Salah, Robert Lewandowski.” Gary Neville said on Sky Sports earlier this year, per The Mirror.

That’s true. At 34 and 37-years-old, Messi and Ronaldo obviously aren’t as desirable an option as they once were, nor Lewandowski.

But have Mabppe and Haaland truly surpassed their heroes in terms of on-pitch performance?

Well, our friends at PlanetFootball took it upon themselves to find out exactly that, by breaking down the stats from each individual’s club campaign this season.

Now, obviously, there are many variables across a season. Messi has found it difficult to adapt to his new surroundings, Ronaldo has been operating within a below par United team, but we think their findings are a pretty accurate representation of where each player is at right now.

Games: 34Starts: 32Sub appearances: 2

Goals: 11Assists: 14

Penalties scored: 2

Minutes per goal: 261Minutes per non-penalty goal: 319.1Minutes per goal or assist: 114.8

It’s an underwhelming return by Messi’s