Argentine footballer Lionel Messi is the GOAT (Greatest of all time).
Messi cemented his place among the greats when he led his team to victory against France at the FIFA World Cup final in Qatar’s Lusail Stadium on Sunday, December 18th 2022.
Messi scored twice in the game that finished 3-3 through extra time. Argentina took the trophy home with a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over France. At the age of 35 and nearly coming to an end of his career, lifting the World cup trophy as well as the Golden Ball for the best player.
Brazilian Football legend congratulated Messi via Instagram saying, “Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way. Messi winning his first World Cup, as his trajectory deserved,” Pele, who has won it three times during his career.
For the past 15 years or so, Messi has had a personal rivalry with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo just to establish himself as the finest player of his generation.
Messi who scored seven goals in Qatar, is a seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world and lifted club soccer’s biggest prize, the Champions League trophy, on four occasions. He ended his wait for a first major trophy with his country at last year’s Copa America.
He has now surpassed Pele with 13 goals at World Cups and is tied for fourth with Just Fontaine on the all-time list. His seven in this year’s tournament surpassed Maradona’s five at the 1986 edition in Mexico.
Messi has now scored a national team-record 98 goals in 172 games. That places him third in the all-time scoring list for men’s internationals, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (118) and Ali Daei (109).
Diego Maradona remains, for many, the country’s ultimate soccer icon after captaining the national team to the 1986 World Cup title.
