Pep Guardiola has voiced his confidence in Erling Haaland's potential to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo's all-time Champions League goalscoring record of 141 goals. Guardiola's statement comes after Haaland marked his 50th Champions League goal in a match against Napoli on Thursday.

Haaland reached the 50-goal milestone in just 49 appearances, shattering Ruud van Nistelrooy's previous record of 62 games. The 25-year-old Norwegian's achievement places him among the elite scorers in Champions League history. He is now level with Thierry Henry in Champions League goals.

"He seems to break every record going. At his age, it's unheard of what he's doing,” said City teammate Phil Foden.

Haaland's Champions League journey began at Salzburg, where he scored a hat-trick on his debut against Genk. He continued his impressive form at Borussia Dortmund, before joining Manchester City. So far, he has 27 goals for City, 15 for Borussia Dortmund and 8 for Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League. In the 2022/23 season, Haaland scored 12 goals in 11 appearances.

"The numbers speak for itself,” Guardiola said. "If he plays 10, 12 years... if he maintains this progression, absolutely (he can)." Guardiola has also placed Haaland among footballing "monsters" such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Haaland has scored against 18 of the 24 teams he has faced in the Champions League. Eight of his goals have been against Belgian teams, and six against Sevilla. He has two Champions League hat-tricks, including a five-goal game against RB Leipzig in 2023, and 13 games with two goals. Of his 50 goals, 34 were with his left foot, 11 with his right, and 5 with his head.

This season, Haaland has 12 goals in 7 appearances for both club and country, including 5 goals in Norway's 11-1 victory over Moldova. He also scored twice in City's 3-0 win over Manchester United.