Wayne Rooney says the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is over, with the Manchester United legend billing Erling Haaland as the next great.

Two eternal rivals that boast 12 Ballons d’Or between them are approaching the end of their respective careers, although both appear to still have plenty left in the tank.

Messi and Ronaldo have helped to raise the bar of individual brilliance in football circles to never before seen heights, with it now up to the next generation to prove that they can follow in the most illustrious of footsteps.

Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe is among those ready to lead that charge, but Rooney feels that Manchester City striker Haaland – with 48 goals to his name through 42 appearances this season – could be the next man to claim a Golden Ball.

Rooney has said in The Times: “Erling Haaland is the best footballer in the world right now. Lionel Messi is the greatest but, at this moment, nobody is playing better than a striker who — even though I broke records in that position myself — takes my breath away with the levels he’s reaching.

He’s the best in the world because of the numbers he’s posting, the performances he’s putting in and the mentality he shows.”

United’s all-time leading goalscorer added on Haaland’s bid to overtake 2022 World Cup winner Messi in the race for Golden Ball honours in 2023:

“If you’re looking at who is going to win the Ballon d’Or then it has got to be him, providing he keeps up his form of this season. And why wouldn’t he? A record of 224 goals in 264 games is the mark of a player whose standards don’t drop. We’ve had the era of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, now this is his time, the era of Haaland and Kylian Mbappé.