Wayne Rooney names Man City player who must win Ballon d’Or this year

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney believes that Manchester City talisman Erling Haaland must win the Ballon d'Or this year thanks to his impressive performances.

Haaland has adapted to the Premier League better than anyone expected him to after joining from Borussia Dortmund last summer. Since then, the Norwegian has scored 48 goals in 42 appearances.

His latest came at the home of his old foe Bayern Munich on Wednesday night as City drew 1-1 on the night to progress 4-1 on aggregate. With his goalscoring prowess currently unmatched in world football, Rooney believes that the 22-year-old should win the Ballon d'Or this year.

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Discussing City's main man, Rooney wrote in his Times column: "Erling Haaland is the best footballer in the world right now. 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. If you’re looking at who is going to win the Ballon d’Or then it has got to be him, providing he keeps up his form [for the rest] of this season.

"And why wouldn’t he? A record of 224 goals in 264 games is the mark of a player whose standards don’t drop.

"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."

Haaland was unusually quiet on Saturday as the Blues progressed to the final of the FA Cup. Riyad Mahrez stole the show