Former Tottenham star Rafael van der Vaart claims Erling Haaland is NOT world class – as he reveals why he considers the Man City striker ‘a normal player’
- Rafael van der Vaart believes that Erling Haaland is not a world-class player
- The former Spurs man has scored at Haaland amid Manchester City’s dip in form
- LISTEN NOW: Manchester City correspondent Jack Gaughan joins us It all starts! to explain whether Pep Guardiola has money to spend in January
Former Tottenham playmaker Rafael van der Vaart has sensationally claimed that Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is not a world-class player.
Since arriving in England just over two years ago, Haaland has scored 107 goals in 117 appearances for City, helping the club win the Treble in his first season before they retained the Premier League title last season.
He has won the Golden Boot in his first two seasons at City and is on course to claim it for a third time after scoring 12 times in 13 games in the 2024/2025 season.
However, City have enjoyed dismal form under Pep Guardiola, failing to win their last seven games in all competitions. They were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday and are now 11 points behind the Reds in the table.
The goals for Haaland have dried up during this winless run and Van Der Vaart has accused Haaland of not contributing enough when he is not scoring.
Talking about Haaland on the talkSPORT show The line up at BetMGM, Van Der Vaart explained: ‘I always said take away his pace, I think he’s a normal player. I don’t want to be rude to him, but technically I don’t think it’s normally good enough.
Erling Haaland should not be considered a world-class player according to Rafael van der Vaart
Ex-Spurs star Van Der Vaart thinks Haaland is just a ‘normal player’ without his pace
Haaland has suffered a dip in form during City’s run of seven games without a win under Pep Guardiola
‘Normally City has the ball and has scored a lot of goals, but I miss something to talk about a world-class striker.’
Van Der Vaart, who spent two years at Spurs between 2010 and 2012 and won 109 caps for the Netherlands during his illustrious career, added that Haaland could not be compared to great strikers of the past, including two compatriots.
“If you compare him back in the day with (Marco) Van Basten or (Ruud) Van Nistelrooy – no, no, no, no,” he said.
When asked whether Haaland belonged in the same category as Van Basten and Van Nistelrooy, Van Der Vaart replied: ‘I don’t think so. People will laugh, but that’s my opinion.’
Haaland escaped the trap at the start of the season by scoring ten goals in his first five league games.
But his decline has coincided with City’s alarming dip in form, which has already led some pundits to rule them out of the title race.
Haaland struggled to make any impact in City’s defeat to Liverpool as he finished a distant second in his battle with Virgil van Dijk.
He will have the chance to silence some of his doubters, including Van Der Vaart, as City looked to return to victory at home to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday evening.