Rodri reveals why Erling Haaland is comparable to Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester City midfielder Rodri has compared teammate Erling Haaland to footballing legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Norwegian striker has taken the Premier League by storm following his move from Borussia Dortmund last summer, smashing the record for most goals scored by a player in a single campaign during his debut year in England.

Haaland has scored 52 goals in 52 games for Man City heading into Saturday's Champions League final against Inter. Victory for the Citizens will see them become the second English side in history to complete the treble.

Speaking ahead of the final in Istanbul, Rodri sat down with Spanish outlet AS and told of how Haaland's obsession with scoring reminds him of some of the game's greatest ever players.

"To begin with, he [Haaland] is 22 years old, which sometimes people forget, and his concerns are those of a 22-year-old boy. But he is super normal," Rodri began.

"He has the natural mental and physical ability to always be well. That allows him to possess composure on the pitch. And he is also a winner, someone very aggressive in the game with his 'I'm going for you', 'I'll be back' [mentality].

"It reminds me a bit of what we experienced with Cristiano and Messi. That hunger: 'I want another goal, and another, and another'. The best of that is not the goals, it is what is contagious. Having players like that is impressive."

It was then put to Rodri that Haaland's physical and mental abilities can allow Man City to play long, referencing the opening goal in April's crucial 4-1 win against Arsenal where he collected a high ball and sent Kevin De Bruyne racing away to break the deadlock.

"It gives you different things, hence the variants of the technician that I mentioned before," Rodri added. "We seek not to lose what we had and benefit from what we have. This season we have shown that we can score from set pieces, counter attacks, possession of the ball... we took the lead in the FA Cup final with a goal kick [from kick-off]! We have grown in all areas."

READ MORE ABOUT ERLING HAALAND'S FUTURE & GOALSCORING RECORDS HERE