The math on Messi's World Cup career should humble everyone the sport spent Tuesday trying to crown as his replacement.
27 World Cup appearances. Nobody in the history of the tournament has played more. 16 goals, level with Klose for the most ever, except Klose needed four World Cups and Messi got there in six. He has now scored against 11 different countries on this stage. Also a record. Also not close.
He holds Argentina's record for youngest World Cup goalscorer, set at 18. He also holds the record for oldest, set last night at 38. One man owns both ends of a 20-year gap.
Now sit with the dates. His first World Cup goal came June 16, 2006. He scored again June 16, 2026, to the day. When he buried that first one, Mbappé was 7 and Haaland was 5.
Tuesday was built as their night. Mbappé scored twice. Haaland scored twice on his debut. Then the 38-year-old scored three, became the oldest man ever to record a World Cup hat-trick at 38 years and 357 days, and walked off level with the all-time scoring record.
The two heirs had the best day of their World Cup lives and still finished the night behind the man they were brought in to replace.
Messi repeatedly conquered club football and took Argentina to within 3 matches of back to back to back tournament wins. Lost 3 finals. They wouldn’t have made any of those finals without him.
Before then, he had won the U/20 World Cup and the Olympics. They pretended those events never happened.
He was trolled like he hadn’t done anything. He was bantered like a villain. It was an all or nothing situation. He was bantered for the margins left of the all.
Take today’s banter as you find it. It is nowhere near what Messi was served, including on his birthdays.
There is nothing new under this sun. Take it on the chin or continue to cry. But if a man who was the best player at the World Cup got trolled for not winning it after losing a final they did enough to win, everyone should take what they get. Especially if you can’t even smell finals.
“Where is Messi?” became a thing after Messi scored a goal and dominated against Saudi Arabia. He wasn’t a passenger. He played. He scored. But they lost, so the world started to look for a man who wasn’t lost. Now you want to police people for asking for the invisible homelander?
Wasiu Adelabu Ogunmepons please!
I don’t want to hear pim!
We’re called students of English not English students. English students are of England origins while the other are learners of the language.
Difference btw lie and lay can be seen in how APC lie all the time and Nigerians lay all their hopes on PO to save us in 2027.