It used to be the pub debate to end all pub debates: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?
You could not sit on the fence and pick neither, and a suggestion that “both have their merits” would be booed away from the bar.
Both are still playing but far from home and their best. The replacement argument is a podium of three strikers, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, who have all shot out of the blocks this season, but who is Europe’s best?
We asked The i Paper’s football experts to rank them as best they could.
Daniel Storey, chief football writer
1. Haaland, 2. Mbappe, 3. Kane
Obviously a hideously thankless task, but I’m putting Haaland top because he’s at record-breaking goalscoring speed in the strongest league. Mbappe comes next – not quite a pure striker so we can judge him on more than goals and he’s an extraordinary dribbler and big-game player.
Kane is third and yet he’s sensational, he is actually taking the mickey in Germany and his all-round game is better than he gets credit for. He could also be top of this three in nine months’ time, if our World Cup dreams come true.
Michael Hincks, football writer
1. Haaland, 2. Mbappe, 3. Kane
Haaland’s goalscoring rate in both the Premier League and Champions League is phenomenal. His off days can be more noticeable but when firing he is a freak of nature who has also shown himself to be one of City’s best defenders when called upon.
So if picking a player for a season, Haaland, but maybe Mbappe for a final given the former’s record in finals remains a question-mark, while Kane has played in too few for a player of his quality. Mbappe has walked the walk on the biggest stages and his numbers since May are incredible. Sorry, Harry.
James Gray, sports news correspondent
1. Kane, 2. Haaland, 3. Mbappe
It’s hard to argue against the raw power and weight of goals scored by Haaland, but Kane is by far the most complete striker of the three, with pace, strength, intelligence and a remarkable ability – as demonstrated against Borussia Dortmund earlier this month – to drop deep and play as a midfielder.
Neither of the other two can do that as effectively, and there is a more refined statistic that favours Kane too: the England captain’s “post-shot xG differential”, which measures a striker’s efficacy at turning chances (xG) into shots on target, is better than both Haaland and Mbappe.
Pete Hall, football writer
1. Haaland, 2. Kane, 3. Mbappe
If we are calling this debate about strikers, the answer is an easy one: a striker is there, fundamentally, to score goals, lots of them. Haaland’s otherworldly numbers make him a clear winner.
The best forward is probably Kane, given his ability to drop deep and create openings with passes to make Kevin De Bruyne blush and his incredible positional awareness. The award for livewire who perhaps could change the game in an instant goes to Mbappe.
But in terms of the first striker I’d pick, it is no contest.
Totals (based on 3 points for first, 2 for second, 1 for third): Haaland 11, Kane 7, Mbappe 6