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Erling Haaland Surpasses Sensational Cristiano Ronaldo Premier League Record

The Norway international continued his climb up the Premier League goalscoring charts.

Amanda Langell

Erling Haaland bagged a brace against West Ham.
Erling Haaland bagged a brace against West Ham. / Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside/Getty Images

Manchester City star Erling Haaland bagged his 104th goal in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, exceeding Cristiano Ronaldo’s output across his two stints with Manchester United.

The 25-year-old continued his brilliant start to 2025–26 with a brace and an assist in the Cityzens’ 3–0 win over West Ham United. Haaland opened the scoring just five minutes into the match, set up Tijjani Reijnders’s goal before half time and then bagged his second of the night in the 69th minute.

The clinical performance not only secured three points for Man City, but also put their leading goalscorer above Ronaldo in the Premier League goalscoring charts. Both forwards briefly remained level with 103 league goals, but Haaland overtook the Portugal captain when he smashed home his side’s third at the Etihad.

Even more impressive for Haaland, though, is the speed in which he caught up to the former Man Utd icon. The No. 9 reached—and then surpassed—the milestone in 122 fewer games than Ronaldo.

It only took Haaland 114 games to score 104 goals in the Premier League, whereas it took Ronaldo 236 appearances to tally 103. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner also needed two stints in a red shirt to accomplish the feat.

Haaland, meanwhile, did so in just his fourth season with Man City. The lethal striker already has 19 league goals to his name in 2024–25, and 26 across all competitions.

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Haaland’s Road to 104 Premier League Goals

Season

PL Matches

PL Goals

2025–26*

17

19

2024–25

31

22

2023–24

31

27

2022–23

35

36

*Still ongoing

Haaland Chasing Second European Golden Boot

Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland ended his debut season at Man City with the Premier League and European Golden Boots. / Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside/Getty Images

Haaland already holds a commanding lead in the Premier League Golden Boot race. The Norwegian’s 19 goals put him in first place, with Brentford’s Igor Thiago in second with 11 league goals to his name.

More interesting, though, is Haaland’s plight for the European Golden Boot. He took home the award for his record-breaking debut season with Man City in 2022–23, becoming the first player in club history to add the individual honour to his trophy cabinet.

Haaland has yet to snag the prize again, but he is currently on pace to put up a strong fight. The forward leads the race with 38 points, but Bayern Munich star Harry Kane and Real Madrid standout Kylian Mbappé are not far behind with 36 and 34 points respectively.

Pos.

Player

Goals

Coefficient

Points

1

Erling Haaland

19

2

38

2

Harry Kane

18

2

36

3

Kylian Mbappé

17

2

34

As rewarding as another European Golden Boot would be, Haaland will be more concerned with helping Man City snatch back the English crown. Pep Guardiola’s men sit at the summit of the Premier League standings with 37 points through 17 games.

Arsenal have their chance to reclaim first place when they take on Everton on Saturday evening, but even three points for the Gunners only give them a two-point cushion over the Cityzens.

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Amanda Langell
AMANDA LANGELL

Amanda Langell is a Sports Illustrated FC freelance writer covering the European game and international competitions.

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