Henry ‘annoyed’ at pundit for ‘comparing different players’ Haaland, Isak: ‘You can’t compare’
Thierry Henry is “annoyed” that people continue to compare Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland and new Liverpool signing Alexander Isak, who are “two different players”.
Liverpool signed Isak from Newcastle United for a British record £135million fee on deadline day.
He joins the Premier League champions after registering 62 goals and 11 assists in 109 Newcastle appearances.
With such an impressive record and monumental transfer fee, Isak is expected to hit the ground running at Anfield, alongside new teammate Florian Wirtz, who cost the Reds £100m in a record-breaking summer transfer window.
Wirtz has struggled in his first five Liverpool appearances, while Isak made his debut on Tuesday against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Haaland, meanwhile, scored his 50th Champions League goal in only his 49th appearance in the competition as Man City beat Italian champions Napoli on Thursday.
The Norwegian is among the world’s best players, boasting a ridiculous record of 267 goals in 338 senior club appearances, while scoring 48 times in 45 Norway caps.
He definitely is better than Isak, but Henry is right to be irked by the comparison as they are completely different strikers.
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Speaking on CBS Sports, ex-City defender Micah Richards said Isak is the best striker in the Premier League, “apart from Haaland”, and asked the Arsenal legend who he prefers.
Amusingly, Henry shut down the debate, saying that he doesn’t like comparing the two.
“They’re different players,” he replied.
“There’s one guy who can play on the left and the right, and then you have a goal-machine who lives in the box.
“In my day, in a 4-4-2 would have been brilliant to have them both, they’re different players.
“I get annoyed when people compare an in-and-out striker with a guy who moves around.
“You can’t compare them because they’re two different players.”
Neither Haaland nor Isak are in the Ballon d’Or conversation, and Henry has backed a compatriot to win the iconic award.
Indeed, he’s backing France over his former club, Barcelona, saying that Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele deserves the win over Lamine Yamal.
“After a season like that – four titles, scoring, assisting – it is normal to be considered one of the favourites for the award,” Dembele recently said.
“For an individual trophy, there’s nothing better for a footballer. It’s the Holy Grail of football. When you see all the legends who have won it, it’s exceptional.”
READ MORE: Twenty most valuable footballers in the world: Yamal, Mbappe rank high as Arsenal duo included
