Mbappé or Haaland? Neymar or Lautaro? ProFootballDB weighs in

Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have ambitious names on their agenda. Mbappé and Haaland, in the offices of the Bernabéu; Neymar and Lautaro, in Barça's, mark the most exciting road map. Beyond if the pandemic allows to go for them or not, we ask ourselves: Which player does each club need the most?

The question can be approached from several angles: the age, the price that they would cost, position that they would occupy in the field, alternatives in the same demarcation... It is not the same to invest 111 million in almost 23 years of Lautaro that in 28 of Neymar, to pay more of the double by Mbappé that by Haaland, to need a pure '9' or a winger. We take a look at it from a Big Data perspective. 

Real Madrid: one or the other according to Benzema's role

A priori, the big difference between the French and the Norwegian is in the spaces they occupy. Mbappé is more inclined to go out of the box and fall down the flanks to take advantage of his speed and dribbling, while Haaland is a more of a classic number 9. However, although he is not as fast, his running power does not take him far from the PSG player in that respect.

Taking his statistics this season for every 90 minutes of play (not per game) on six key parameters for an attacker, we find a slight advantage for Mbappé. He handles better averages in assists (0.47), key passes (2.26), shots on goal (2.69) and attempted dribbles (5.5). Haaland dominates in goal average (1.59) and shot on goal percentage (67.67).

In other words, the 'big data' shows the PSG player has a more dynamic profile, which could have more presence in the game and would be more threatening for opponents. Meanwhile, the Borussia Dortmund player is much more forceful, needing less to score. One of the most interesting stats is also their ability to generate goals (goals plus assists): 1.6 from the Frenchman for every 90 minutes, for the 1.82 from the Norwegian.

In sum, the conclusion, always according to the 'big data', is that the chosen one could be focused from the role of Benzema with them: with Mbappé it would remain '9', with Haaland it could return to be the partner that was with Cristiano.

Barcelona: no debate

Here the debate does not even exist: Neymar is superior to Lautaro Martínez in all key concepts. Moreover, without being a clear '9', the Brazilian generates more goals (1.28 for every 90 minutes, compared to 0.66 for the Inter player) and shoots more times and with a better success rate.

However, the most abysmal difference is the skills promised by both players: Neymar's 9.88 dribbles are three times more than Lautaro's (3.05).

The great argument in favour of the former Racing player, as well as the much better price-performance ratio, is that signing him would mean finding the best relief for Luis Suarez, while at the same time smoothing out the hard process of the decline of Luis Suarez, who is starting to face his most difficult stretch at the age of 33. To bet on the Argentinean is to bet on the future.     

Comparing the four at the same time, and although being very reductionist, we have Mbappé, Neymar and Haaland tied dominating in two different concepts, while Lautaro is the last one in all fronts except in the number of attempted races and in the key passes, where he ties with the Norwegian. Therefore, Real Madrid's choice seems to be more beneficial than Barça's.