The Legend Rewrites the Record Books
Lionel Messi is 38 years old. Turning 39 next week. And he just scored his first-ever World Cup hat-trick.
In Kansas City, Argentina demolished Algeria 3-0 to open their title defense. Messi bagged goals in the 17th, 60th, and 76th minutes. Clinical. Historic. Jaw-dropping.
The treble moves him to 16 World Cup goals outright, drawing level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the competition’s all-time joint-top scorer. Gone are Kylian Mbappé, Ronaldo Nazario and Thomas Müller in the record books. Messi now stands alone at the summit alongside Klose. He also surpassed Pelé’s tally of 21 World Cup goal contributions, racking up 24 in total across six tournaments.
The night belonged to him completely. FIFA awarded him Man of the Match without hesitation.
Emotional, Grateful, and Still Hungry
Post-match, Messi was reflective. Raw, even.
“I cried after the first goal, yes,” he admitted. “But it was something completely unrelated to football.” He didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to.
Instead, he spoke about resilience. About his teammates rallying around him through difficult days before the tournament began. “I’m grateful to the entire delegation,” he said. “They were always by my side, giving me a lot of strength.”
Then came the quote that captures everything about this man. “This is my sixth World Cup, and I still feel like I’m in good shape.” Six tournaments. Still standing. Still scoring. Still the best.
He reflected on the honor of sharing records with true greats. “It is a great honor to compete with players like Ronaldo Nazário,” Messi said. “He was one of the greatest of all time.”
Football at its purest.
The World Reacts
Football stopped and stared.
Erling Haaland, who himself scored twice for Norway earlier in the day, took to Snapchat with three words: “Messi is a madman.” Thomas Müller kept it even simpler on Instagram: “This guy.”
Two words. Tens of millions of people agreed.
Messi’s appearance was also his 200th cap for Argentina, making him one of the most-capped footballers in history. He is both the oldest and youngest to achieve what he has for Argentina at World Cups. A walking contradiction. A living paradox.
“I love playing football,” he said quietly. “It has been my passion since I was a little kid. When I’m in good form, I give everything I have on the field.”
Against Algeria, he gave everything. And then some.