Thierry Henry on Lionel Messi becoming the oldest player ever to score a World Cup hat-trick and the player with the most goals from outside the box in World Cup history:
🗣️ “I honestly don't know what more there is left to say about Lionel Messi anymore. Every time you think he has reached the top of the mountain, he somehow finds another peak that nobody else has ever climbed before.”
“The oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick. Just stop and think about that for a second. At an age when most players are retired, coaching, or sitting in television studios, Messi is still breaking records on the biggest stage in football.”
“And it's not just the hat-trick that amazes me. He now has more World Cup goals from outside the box than anyone in history. That tells you everything about the level of technique, vision, and confidence we are talking about.”
“These are not lucky goals. These are moments of genius. The type of goals where everyone in the stadium knows what he wants to do, but nobody can stop him from doing it anyway.”
“What makes this even more incredible is that this is his sixth World Cup. Six World Cups. Different generations, different teammates, different opponents, yet the same outcome every single time Lionel Messi deciding matches.”
“People always ask what makes certain players special. Well, special players break records. Legends create records. Messi is doing both at the same time while carrying the expectations of an entire nation.”
“I've played against some of the greatest footballers in history, I've watched some of the greatest footballers in history, but what Messi continues to do at 38 years old simply doesn't make sense.”
“This is no longer about talent. This is no longer about numbers. This is football history unfolding right before our eyes, and every single match feels like another chapter in a story that nobody thought was possible.”
Pep Guardiola’s legacy? Look all around from park pitches to Wembley. So many teams and coaches have been influenced by Guardiola. More teams playing out from the back, full-backs inverting into midfield, inviting the press, passing through it, attacking the space. Teams evolving. City won the league in 2021 with false 9s. Then a real 9 arrived, Erling Haaland, as Guardiola tweaked and twisted again. Mixing it up, possession, possession, then going long to Haaland if needed. Mixing it up, possession in the centre, then releasing flying wingers Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo.
Guardiola’s legacy? Look at the coaches who learned from him. Enzo Maresca, his likely successor. And Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso, Vincent Kompany, Xavi and Luis Enrique. Look at his impact on England. Nico O’Reilly starts at left-back. Phil Foden developed early by Guardiola, not sent out on loan, embedded in the first team early.
He improved John Stones, Rico Lewis and Kyle Walker (who is now retired from England). Guardiola gave James Trafford a run in the cups. He gave Cole Palmer a chance before he craved more starts and went to Chelsea. Others have also moved on after a spell under Guardiola’s enlightened tutelage: Morgan Rogers, Liam Delap, James McAtee, Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
Guardiola has undeniably enjoyed huge resources to call upon during his decade at City. He was able to draft in Marc Guehi and Semenyo in January. The sport still awaits the verdict of the 115 charges of rule breaches, charges which City deny vigorously. But Guardiola's achievements deserve celebrating: 591 games, 416 wins, 20 trophies.
And so to the future. If it is confirmed that Guardiola is leaving after Sunday’s final game of the season, at home to Aston Villa, he will be greatly missed. Maresca is his mooted successor. He knows the club, knows the way Guardiola worked, and can seek to continue that work. It’s a relatively young squad that Guardiola has built. It’s a continuity job. Surely, though, Kompany would have been the man they really wanted. Club legend. But currently embedded at Bayern Munich.
Guardiola's legacy is encouraging innovation, total commitment, near obsession with his work and playing attacking football. This City side are entertainers, playing 4-2-4 at times in the FA Cup final on Saturday. Even if the league is beyond him, the title seized by a coach he helped develop, Guardiola leaves as a winner, with two more trophies this season - and countless memories. Good luck to Guardiola in whatever he does next. #MCFC
Unai Emery is probably going to win the Europa League with Sevilla, Villarreal and Aston Villa.
That’s like some kind of Football Manager save goal to succeed with all the teams with “Villa” in.
He could just talk about himself and his amazing comeback. But this gentle giant, this humble man bigs up his fellow players and comes right out and says that MGW has to go to the World Cup. What a legend. #ThomasTuchel@england#NFFC
So many performances to be happy with in there, but what a display from this man, particularly in the late stages
The bloke must have three lungs. Outrageous work rate on display 🇦🇷
#NFFC | #UEL
The youngest player in NBA history with
more than 25 points, more than 10 rebounds, more than 5 assists and multiple made three-pointers in a playoff game is….
Lebron James at age 21
The oldest player in NBA history with
more than 25 points, more than 10 rebounds, more than 5 assists and multiple made three-pointers in a playoff game is….
Lebron James at age 41
We never see anyone like LeBron ever again in our lifetimes
Appreciate greatness.
🤯 Over the years I've probably watched this goal 100 times and have totally forgotten that it was scored in the 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗧𝗘 of the game.
⏱️ 𝟮𝟲 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗦.
🚨Thierry Henry on Rayan Cherki vs Chelsea:
🗣️ Henry: “Rayan Cherki… wow. What you are seeing is a very, very special player. He has that rare ability to control a game with both intelligence and flair almost like a mix of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva in one body. The vision, the creativity, the calmness—it’s all there.”
“And people talk about the showboating, but for me, that is what completes him. It’s not arrogance, it’s expression. It’s confidence. The best players enjoy football, and he shows that every time he touches the ball.”
“Ten assists already in his debut Premier League season? That tells you everything. This is not just talent, this is end product. If he continues like this, we are looking at a player who can dominate this league for years.” #CHEMCI