Messi's record 18 World Cup goals cement longevity, redefine greatness

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, June 22 : Two days from turning 39, already older than Diego Maradona was when he retired from soccer, Lionel Messi cannot stop breaking records.

On Monday, the Argentina captain added another line to a career that includes magic, greatness and drama, scoring twice in a 2-0 win over Austria to become the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer, with 18.

The icing on top of an already well-iced cake, the double saw him move past Brazil's Marta (17) and Germany's Miroslav Klose (16).

"I've always said that Messi is not bad," Klose joked to the Suddeutsche Zeitung, describing him as the greatest player of all time. Marta, meanwhile, posted applause emojis on Instagram.

HISTORY REWRITTEN

An eight-times Ballon d'Or winner, Messi became La Liga's all-time top scorer during a Barcelona tenure that spanned nearly two decades and yielded 34 trophies, including 10 Spanish league and four Champions League titles.

The Spanish team banked on the Rosario-born, Newell's Old Boys-formed Messi since a very young age.

In 2012, he had already been responsible for what many describe as the greatest year a player has had in soccer, with 91 goals.

Across club soccer he owns a record 40 titles, while for Argentina he stands alone as the most-capped player with 201 appearances and the all-time leading scorer with 122 goals.

Messi, a father of three, has now also rewritten World Cup longevity.

Six tournaments played and a record 28 matches. The only player to score in the tournament as a teenager, in his 20s and in his 30s. Now, on the cusp of 40, he has authored one of the tournament's most striking statistical triumphs.

LONG-AWAITED ARGENTINA GLORY

The Argentina glory, however, took time to arrive.

Messi burst onto the global stage in 2006 as a prodigy, but endured frustration in 2010 and 2018, and the anguish of the 2014 final defeat by Germany in Brazil.

Copa America campaigns often ended in disappointment, including in 2016 when he missed a penalty in a shootout defeat by Chile in the final.

Yet the tide turned, and then surged. Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024, with the crowning achievement of the 2022 World Cup in between - a triumph that former striker Jorge Valdano described as liberating him to happiness.

There were detours. A muted spell at Paris St Germain between 2021 and 2023 prompted doubts about decline before a move to Inter Miami that many assumed would be his swan song.

But Messi has kept on giving, and even his blemishes feed the narrative.

Against Austria, he became the first player to miss penalties in three different World Cups, but responded with two goals that decided the match and reshaped the record books.

"There were moments when I felt a lot of anger after missing the penalty, but I was able to make up for it," he said.

REVERENCE

Inside the Argentina camp, reverence borders on awe. Defender Lisandro Martinez said: "There's no need to compare him, because he stands alone at the top."

When Messi arrived in the U.S. for the World Cup, he was still behind Ronaldo's 15 goals at the finals for Brazil.

"For the gods of soccer, it's a fitting statistic that he surpasses everyone. If there's anyone who deserves this title, I think Messi is the perfect man to be there," the former Brazil striker said.

What comes next feels like speculation rather than prediction. The march toward 1,000 career goals (he has already more than 900? A second World Cup title? Even a seventh appearance at the tournament in his 40s in 2030, when Argentina are slated to host one of the opening matches?

Few would dare to draw a line under Messi now. For his part, the Argentina captain is keeping the door open.

"As long as I can and I feel good enough to do it, I'll be there," he said after scoring a hat-trick in Argentina's 3-0 win in their World Cup opener against Algeria.