Ten years ago, Lionel Messi announced he was done with international football, unable to bear the pain of another major final defeat.
Following Argentina’s Copa America final loss to Chile in 2016, in which he missed a penalty during the shootout, Messi declared enough was enough after four final defeats in nine years.
“For me, the national team is over,” he said at the time. “I’ve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion.”
That retirement lasted only months, and the decision to reverse it has since produced one of the most remarkable second acts in sporting history.
Argentina have won the past two Copa America tournaments, and in 2022 Messi captained them to World Cup glory, scoring seven goals including two in the final, ending a 36-year wait for the trophy.
Now, two days before his 39th birthday, Messi has become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Germany’s Miroslav Klose with both goals in a 2-0 victory against Austria.
The record-breaking 17th goal arrived in the 38th minute with a low strike, before a second in stoppage time saw him squeeze the ball past two defenders from a tight angle to make it 18 in 28 World Cup appearances.
The occasion carried extraordinary historical symmetry, coming exactly 40 years to the day since Diego Maradona scored twice in Argentina’s 2-1 quarter-final win over England at the 1986 World Cup.
BBC commentator Steve Bower described it as “another immortal Messi moment” as the Argentina captain continued to rewrite the sport’s record books at the age of 38.
“I enjoy playing and having a good time on the pitch,” said Messi. “We enjoy seeing the people like this too, being able to give them this kind of joy.”
Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, struggled to find adequate words to describe what supporters are witnessing from the forward.
“We don’t have time to create statues for Lionel Messi or deep analysis for him in newspapers. We cannot keep pace,” said Balague.
Remarkably, 12 of Messi’s 18 World Cup goals have come since he turned 35, with 14 struck with his left foot and four arriving from outside the penalty area.
Balague added: “He is enjoying it and this is the best thing. I have seen him play World Cups where he couldn’t last 90 minutes. Here at the end, he was running like anyone else, now he knows his body so well.”
Against Austria, Messi also became only the third player to score in six successive World Cup matches, joining France’s Just Fontaine from 1958 and Brazil’s Jairzinho from 1970.
He has scored all five of Argentina’s goals at this tournament, leads the Golden Boot race by two goals, and has now created the most chances in World Cup history with 76.
Former Wales defender Ashley Williams posed the question millions of football fans are asking: “Are we looking at the greatest player ever? It’s possible and definitely worth the debate.”
Former England midfielder Danny Murphy went further, saying: “His football intelligence is off the charts, he just finds space and the timing is great from the best player I’ve ever seen.”
The afternoon was not without its blemish, as Messi fired a penalty wide in the eighth minute, becoming the first player to miss a spot-kick at the 2026 World Cup.
“There was a moment where I was very angry about the penalty, because I missed it and I took it very, very badly,” Messi admitted. “Luckily we were able to reverse that situation, take the lead and get the three points.”
Former England striker Chris Sutton raised the question of whether Argentina are dangerously reliant on one man, noting: “I suppose the negative side for Lionel Scaloni is he probably wants other players to contribute with goals. They can’t just rely on Messi, or can they?”
South American football expert Tim Vickery offered a poetic take on why the gods of football seemingly denied Messi his record via a penalty, saying: “Argentina have built the team around him and I just don’t want the carnival to end.”
With Argentina already through to the last 32 and a match against Jordan next on Sunday, there is still plenty of opportunity for Messi to add to his tally and potentially claim the all-time World Cup assists record, currently shared with Maradona on eight.
