Xabi Alonso Compares Joao Pedro to Karim Benzema and Erling Haaland
Xabi Alonso likens Chelsea striker Joao Pedro to Karim Benzema – and says he is operating on the same level as Erling Haaland.
The Chelsea manager did not hesitate when asked if his Brazilian forward belongs in the same bracket as Manchester City's prolific No 9, who claimed last season's Premier League Golden Boot with 27 goals.
“I would say yes,” Alonso said. “If you count how many top strikers we have in the Premier League, I'm sure that Joao is there, Haaland for sure is there. So I would rate him that way.”
From promising talent to Premier League standard-bearer
Joao Pedro, 24, has started the new campaign as if he intends to dominate it. Two goals, two assists in his first three league games. On Friday, the Premier League named him Player of the Month – the first such award of his career.
He edged out team-mate Cole Palmer, who had taken the prize in September 2024, underlining how quickly the Brazilian has become the attacking reference point at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea moved to secure that future last month, handing Joao Pedro a new contract that runs until 2034 and giving him the club’s storied number nine shirt at the start of the season. The weight of that jersey has crushed others. He has worn it like a natural heir.
Last season, his debut campaign in blue, he became the first Chelsea striker since Diego Costa to hit 20 goals in a single season. Across all competitions since arriving last summer, he has 25 goals and 11 assists in 57 appearances.
Haaland’s numbers remain monstrous: 42 goals and nine assists in his last 57 games for City. Yet Alonso’s comparison is not about raw volume alone. It is about how Joao Pedro plays the position.
The Benzema echo
Alonso shared a dressing room with Karim Benzema 195 times at Real Madrid. He watched the Frenchman evolve from promising finisher into one of the most complete centre-forwards of his generation, a Ballon d'Or winner who knitted together some of the greatest attacks in modern football.
That is the template he sees in west London.
“In many things he reminds me of Benzema,” Alonso said. “Because he is good in the box, he is good out of the box, he is good coming to his left side, he is good with the head, he is very complete, he is intelligent.
“So yes, he is still young, still things to develop, but many, many absolutely outstanding qualities that he has.”
Benzema, now 38 and a free agent, has scored 523 goals in 994 games for France, Lyon, Real Madrid and Saudi Arabian sides Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal. To even mention Joao Pedro in that company is a statement in itself.
Haaland is a specialist finisher, a penalty-box force of nature. Joao Pedro’s route has been different. He has played as a midfielder, as a No 10, as a winger. He drifts, links, creates. His game stretches beyond the white lines of the area, closer to Benzema’s all-court interpretation of the role than Haaland’s ruthless single-mindedness.
Brazil pain, Chelsea response
For all that, Joao Pedro watched this summer’s World Cup from afar. Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti – Alonso’s former coach at Real Madrid – left him out of the squad, a decision that surprised many given his impact in England.
The omission hurt. Alonso did not need to weaponise it.
“He had enough motivation,” the Chelsea boss said. “He already had enough within him, so I didn't need to go there. It was painful for him, but that is in the past. We are now focused on what he is doing well and what he can do better.
“He has been outstanding. Not just in football terms, but in his personality, his maturity and his desire. He has a very clear goal this season, which is to have a great campaign and score a lot of goals.”
Brazil have taken notice. Joao Pedro has been recalled for September’s internationals against New Zealand and India, a chance to carry his Chelsea form onto the global stage and to force his way into Ancelotti’s long-term plans.
Alonso has nailed his colours to the mast. He sees a forward with Benzema’s intelligence, Haaland’s tier of influence and a decade-long contract to shape Chelsea’s attack. The question now is not whether Joao Pedro belongs among the Premier League’s elite – it is how far, and how fast, he can climb from here.
