Kylian Mbappé on chasing Lionel Messi’s FIFA World Cup goalscoring record:
🗣️ “People keep asking me about Lionel Messi’s record. I have nothing but respect for him. He’s one of the greatest players this game has ever seen, and what he achieved at the World Cup is something every footballer admires.
But I’m not here to spend my career looking over my shoulder at another man’s achievements. I respect Messi, but I’m writing my own story. Records are made to be challenged, and if I have the chance to break them, I won’t apologize for it.
Messi has already conquered football. He has nothing left to prove. He’s older now, and that’s the natural cycle of the game. My generation has to step forward and create its own legacy. That’s football every era eventually gives way to the next.
If I finish above him one day, it won’t be because I wanted to disrespect Lionel. It’ll be because I refused to put limits on myself. Greatness isn’t inherited it has to be taken.
I’m not chasing Messi the person. I’m chasing history. If that means going past one of the greatest players of all time, then so be it. That’s the responsibility that comes with wearing this shirt and dreaming of becoming the greatest.”