Carragher backs Haaland to score 1,000 career goals after Champions League brace against Porto

Erling Haaland moved to 322 club goals in 407 senior appearances after a composed brace helped Manchester City open their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win over Porto, and the performance was enough to convince Jamie Carragher that the 26-year-old is on course for a historic milestone.

The double also made Haaland City’s third-highest goalscorer of all time. Add his 62 goals in 55 Norway appearances and the Norwegian already sits at 384 across all competitions — a figure Carragher believes will eventually eclipse every record in the men’s game.

“I just can’t see Haaland not scoring 1,000 goals or being the best goalscorer of all time,” the former Liverpool defender said. “I have never seen anything like it in terms of goals and numbers and it is every game. But because he does it so often, it does not feel that big. He has just scored two goals away from home in the Champions League and any other striker does that it is an amazing night. It just feels like a normal night.”

Carragher went further, suggesting Haaland could still improve: “I just can’t see how he does not end up being the greatest goalscorer or getting the most goals we have ever seen anybody get.”

The benchmark for most goals by a male footballer remains contested. Pelé claimed to have exceeded 1,000 during his career, though that figure is widely disputed due to the inclusion of friendlies and unofficial fixtures — games that, in the Brazilian’s era, carried greater competitive weight than they do today. Cristiano Ronaldo is the most credible modern challenger to the landmark, having passed 900 goals in 2024 with Al Nassr.

Haaland’s next test comes in the Manchester derby, with City travelling to Old Trafford on Sunday.