Wayne Rooney has waded into the debate between Didier Drogba and Erling Haaland, picking a winner out of the Manchester City star and the former Chelsea number nine.
Didier Drogba’s Chelsea career is defined by his reputation as the ultimate big-game player. Over two spells at Stamford Bridge, the striker scored 164 goals in 381 appearances, cementing his place as the club’s fourth all-time leading scorer and the highest-scoring foreign player in the Blues’ history.
He had an extraordinary record of nine goals in nine cup finals, including the equalising header and winning penalty in the 2012 Champions League final.
Beyond this, Drogba helped Chelsea secure four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, and three League Cups. Individually, he won the Premier League Golden Boot twice (2006/07 and 2009/10) and was twice named African Footballer of the Year.
Interestingly, Erling Haaland’s rise in the Premier League now has many supporters questioning who is better out of club legend Drogba and the Manchester City man.
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Wayne Rooney picks Didier Drogba ahead of Erling Haaland
Speaking on The Overlap YouTube, Wayne Rooney and Jamie Carragher were reading out fan questions and it led to ‘who is better out of Didier Drogba and Erling Haaland’.
“I think Erling Haaland is a better goal scorer than Drogba. If I’m trying to make a decision here, the questions is if you’re going into a Champions League semi-final, two legs, who do you want in your team? And at this moment in time I would have picked Drogba.”
There’s no doubting that Erling Haaland is a certified record-breaker. He became the fastest player to score 100 Premier League goals, reaching the milestone in just 111 games, shaving 13 matches off Alan Shearer’s legendary record. He also holds the record for the most goals in a single 38-game season (36).
In Europe, he is the fastest and youngest to reach 40 and 50 Champions League goals, hitting the half-century in only 49 appearances. Internationally, he is now Norway’s all-time leading scorer with 55 goals, surpassing a record that had stood since 1937.
Even John Terry said he would struggle against Erling Haaland.
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Didier Drogba and Erling Haaland compared
While the record books suggest Erling Haaland has already eclipsed the greats, Wayne Rooney’s recent analysis suggests a different reality. Rooney labeled Haaland a goalscoring machine but as has been pointed out in the past, there is a slopiness in his link-up play that wasn’t present in Didier Drogba.
The argument isn’t just about goals, but also influence. Drogba didn’t just score goals, he carried the entire weight of a championship-winning team at times.
Erling Haaland (Man City & Borussia Dortmund) Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Premier League Goals 108 104
Games to reach 104 PL Goals 114 Matches 252 Matches
Champions League Goals 55 44
Major Cup Final Goals 3 9
Finals “Clutch” Ratio 0.3 goals per game 0.9 goals per game
League Golden Boots 3 2
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