Shearer: Haaland won’t break record, but he’s the best

Alan Shearer has revealed why he does not believe goal-machine Erling Haaland will beat his Premier League scoring record.

The former Newcastle and Blackburn star scored a whopping 260 goals in 441 appearances between 1992 and 2006, earning him three Golden Boot awards.

He notched more than 20 goals in a season on seven different occasions as he raced to a scoring tally which few thought would ever be beaten.

That was until Norwegian Haaland came along two years ago and started scoring for fun for Manchester City, bagging 70 in 69 appearances at the age of just 24.

But Shearer, speaking to Betfair, shared his theory on why the marksman will not overtake his tally, focussing mainly on the uncertainty over the striker’s future.

He said: ‘There’s no doubt that if Erling Haaland stays here for the next five or six years, the way he’s going, then he will absolutely break it.

‘We’ll have to wait and see though; we don’t know what’s going to happen with Man City and the charges, we don’t know what’s going to happen with Pep Guardiola and his time at the club.

‘They are big questions, not only for the football club and the manager but also for the players that are at the club too. But, if Haaland stays in the Premier League then absolutely, he’ll break my record.’

Shearer insisted he still rates Haaland, however, and in fact labelled him ‘the best striker in the world’ – hardly surprising after he scored 36 in 35 in his opening season and 27 in 31 last campaign.

He has continued his electric form into the start of the 2024-25 season, bagging seven goals in the first three matches including two hat-tricks already.

‘Erling Haaland is the best striker in the world right now,’ Shearer said. ‘In terms of his goals, I mean, he’s playing in the hardest league in the world too. 

‘I know he’s got great players around him, but he still has to finish his chances and the way he is, and how easy he’s making it look, which of course it’s not, then yes there’s no one better than him at putting the ball in the back of the net at the minute. 

‘Haaland’s finishing is top class, and you can see he really, really enjoys it too and I appreciate that. I get that because when you’re in that form, when you’ve got that belief and when you have a chance and you expect to put it away, it’s a great feeling.

‘Standing on the pitch, standing in the tunnel looking at your competitors thinking “I’m already 1-0 up. I’ve already got the belief and the confidence.” It’s an incredible feeling and I can see he’s got that. I can see it in him and it’s an amazing feeling.’

Haaland needs 190 goals to beat Shearer’s record, which would take him just over six years if he scored 30 a season, and around seven and a half if he went at 25 a season.

If the Norwegian scored a below-par but still impressive 20 goals a year, he would overtake the Newcastle legend’s tally in around nine and a half years time at the age of 33.

Shearer suggested there was one other striker who could usurp his record but he would have to move back to England if he wanted to achieve the feat.

Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane is an agonising 47 goals behind the record but moved away from the Premier League last summer in a bid to win a trophy with the German giants. 

Incidentally, the number of goals he needs is the exact same as the total he scored over the course of his last two campaigns at boyhood club Tottenham.

Shearer added: ‘I think if Harry Kane was to come back to the Premier League in a couple of years, then he may have a chance of breaking my record.’

Wayne Rooney is in third position in the all-time top scorer stats with 208 goals while Andy Cole lies in fourth with 187 finishes.

The highest tally for an overseas goalscorer is Sergio Aguero’s. The Argentinian bagged an impressive 184 goals for Man City.

Shearer also scored 23 top-flight goals for Southampton in the old First Division before it was rebranded the Premier League in 1992.