These are absurd comparisons.the comment was about "classics" not GTs.
Pog is not near Merckx's palmares in terms of classics. yet.
he may eventually get there, particularly because Merckx's career is relatively short as you point out. (Merckx only raced 7 TDFs, winning 5. Pog has already raced 6, winning 4.)
but in terms of classics/monuments, pog still has a long way to go.
Merckx
Milan-San Remo: 7 wins
Tour of Flanders: 2 wins
Paris-Roubaix: 3 wins
Liège-Bastogne-Liège: 5 wins
Giro di Lombardia: 2 wins
Worlds: 3 wins
Pog
Tour of Flanders: 2 wins
Liège-Bastogne-Liège: 3 wins
Giro di Lombardia: 4 wins
Worlds: 1 win
Things could start to tilt in Pog's direction once he wins both Worlds and Lombardy this season -- as he is favored to do. He will have 12 wins in the major one day races by age only 27!
Merckx pretty much stopped winning after the 1975 TDF at age barely 30. Only the 1976 MSR as a major victory after that.
We will see.
Take Paris-Roubaix 1973.
Won by Merckx.
Belgians took the first 8 places.
The first non-Belgian finished... 12 minutes behind Merckx.
It was a different, way less competitive era.
Gianetti and Matxin broke cycling with Pogacar and I'm pretty sure the Slovenian will have to drop dead on the bike before serious questions will be asked.