Erling Haaland has been one of the standout players in Europe over the course of 2020.

The 20-year-old, who joined Borussia Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January, has scored a magnificent 33 goals in just 32 appearances for his current employers.

His remarkable record in front of goal recently earned the gifted youngster the prestigious Golden Boy award for 2020.

But who does Haaland, the world’s best young centre-forward, rate as the greatest centre-backs in the game right now?

The Norway international has selected three defenders who he believes possess physicality and intelligence in abundance.

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"I think the best three central defenders in the world are Sergio Ramos, Virgil van Dijk and Kalidou Koulibaly,” Haaland told Norwegian paper VG, per Spanish outlet AS.

"All three are very physical, but also very intelligent on the pitch."

It’s hard to argue against Haaland’s choices.

Ramos might be 34 but the talismanic Spaniard remains such a vitally important player for Real Madrid at both ends of the pitch.

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Liverpool’s Van Dijk is currently recovering from a serious injury but is widely regarded as the world’s best centre-back right now.

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There are a few more question marks over Napoli’s Koulibaly, although the 29-year-old has performed consistently well in the Italian top-flight over the past few seasons.

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Back in October, Haaland selected seven strikers who he believes are currently better than him.

The prolific forward reckons Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Sergio Aguero, Roberto Firmino, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Harry Kane and Timo Werner are all ahead of him at this moment in time.

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For what it’s worth, we think Haaland was being either too modest or too harsh on himself here.

Most football fans would surely argue, certainly on current form, that Haaland is a better centre-forward than Werner and perhaps even Aubameyang, too.