Former Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimović has claimed he was a better striker than Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, who is expected to lead Norway’s challenge at the World Cup.

In recent years, Haaland has been widely regarded as the standout player in Scandinavia. The Norwegian forward has finished highly in Ballon d’Or voting on multiple occasions, although last year Viktor Gyökeres was ranked as the region’s top player, finishing 15th overall.

During the World Cup opening broadcast on Fox Sports, where Ibrahimović is working as a pundit, the panel discussed whether Haaland has already surpassed the Swedish icon in terms of overall level.

Ibrahimović responded firmly, making his stance clear: “I’m not sure about that. He needs to do a lot more to reach the ‘freak of nature,’” he said in the studio.

When asked what Haaland must do to reach his level, Ibrahimović elaborated on the differences between their playing styles.

“He scores goals and is a ‘killer’ in the box, but I was more versatile. I liked to play with the ball. He is a ‘killer’ in the box, intelligent, and does what he needs to do, but he doesn’t do more than what is required. He doesn’t waste energy,” he said.

He continued: “I saw an interview with him where he said his dream is to touch the ball twice and score two goals. My dream was rather to touch the ball twice and score three goals.”

Haaland’s Norway are set to face Iraq on Wednesday in their opening World Cup match. In the group stage, they will also meet Senegal and France.