*Lionel Messi ranks joint-fourth all-time for World Cup goals, level with Just Fontaine (13) and behind only Gerd Muller (14), Ronaldo (15) and Miroslav Klose (16).

* Lionel Messi is the only player ever to score in all five rounds of the World Cup (group stage, last 16, quarter-final, semi-final, final).

* Lionel Messi has made the most all-time World Cup assists, level with Pele (.

* Lionel Messi is the only player to assist goals at four and five different World Cup tournaments.

* Lionel Messi ranks first all-time for World Cup goal contributions (21).

* Lionel Messi has won the most matches in the World Cup as a player, level with Miroslav Klose (19).

* Lionel Messi has scored in the most different World Cup matches, level with Miroslav Klose (11).

* Lionel Messi is the only player to ever win two World Cup Golden Balls.

* Lionel Messi is the oldest player to win the World Cup Golden Ball (35 years, 178 days).

* Lionel Messi holds the record for the longest period between a player’s first and most recent World Cup goals (16 years and 183 days).

* Lionel Messi is the only player to score a World Cup goal in his teens, 20s and 30s.

* Lionel Messi has won the most man of the match awards at World Cups with 11, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (7) and Arjen Robben (6). He also has the most man of the match awards at one tournament (5 in 2022).

* Lionel Messi is one of only six players to appear at five different World Cup tournaments – Antonio Carbajal, Lothar Matthaus, Rafael Marquez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Guardado are the others.

* Lionel Messi is the only player in World Cup history – at least since such records began in 1966 – to score and assist a goal in four separate matches.

* Lionel Messi is the youngest and oldest player in World Cup history to score and assist a goal in the same match.

* Lionel Messi is the youngest player to play for, score for and captain Argentina at a World Cup.

* Lionel Messi is the all-time top-scoring male South American in international fixtures (98 goals)

Dominating Mr. Vasco Da Farmer everywhere.....E Choke

zeusis:

heard we want to announce gvardiol and nkunku by January.
Any updates from you that says otherwise?

lol nothing concrete with gvardiol,we are still talking to his people, gvardiol they make guy like woman ,ad for nkunku,I think Chelsea will announce it during January

Debroslink:


Kini big deal about Benfica that Messi hasn't done to Madrid (greatest club ever). How many league titles did Pele win in that Farmer's league or is it Copa Libertadores titles you wanna compare with Messi's ? Compare his club titles and it will dwarf that of Messi's.

Domestic league trophies... Messi >>>>>>> Pele

Continental trophies... Messi >>>>>> Pele

Copa America... Messi >>>>> Pele (never won it)

WC Best Player... Messi >>>>> Pele (2 > 1)

International goals... Messi >>>>> Pele

Official goal contributions... Messi >>>>> Pele

Pele went to one Copa America only, won the Golden Boot and Golden Ball, lost in the final

Back then Brazil send their B team to COPA, Pele is too big for that, unlike Messi that they had to be throwing COPA every year for before Aston Villa Goalkeeper could finally help him win one with penalty shootouts

All the other stuff you wrote is just from playing more games.

Take away penalties (Messi 109 to Peles 7) and Pele has more absolute goals than Messi on both club and international level, and has a way superior goals per game record - bear in mind Pele played midfield for the second half of his career with that too

liveLongNprospa:


Lmaooo scoring like 12 penalties

Pele playing with Santos then was like almost all the gifted Brazilian players playing in their league or clubs since the Brazil government didn't allow most of them go to Europe. You saw how strong Brazil looked before modric chased them home. Then imagine it like that in those days like garrincha also playing for botafogo. If he was not afraid he should have come to europe not new york cosmos.

WhoDeyHause:

Pele playing with Santos then was like almost all the gifted Brazilian players playing in their league or clubs since the Brazil government didn't allow most of them go to Europe. You saw how strong Brazil looked before modric chased them home. Then imagine it like that in those days like garrincha also playing for botafogo. If he was not afraid he should have come to europe not new york cosmos.

You get it, just like asking Brazil NT players to play for Santos....Neymar and Richarlison will score at least 2000 goals

WhoDeyHause:

Pele playing with Santos then was like almost all the gifted Brazilian players playing in their league or clubs since the Brazil government didn't allow most of them go to Europe. You saw how strong Brazil looked before modric chased them home. Then imagine it like that in those days like garrincha also playing for botafogo. If he was not afraid he should have come to europe not new york cosmos.

Pele was already retired for 2 years before he went to New York. Europe doesn't come into play. He retired in Brazil and chilled for 2 years until New York threw money in his face

Ballzproblem2:
lol nothing concrete with gvardiol,we are still talking to his people, gvardiol they make guy like woman ,ad for nkunku,I think Chelsea will announce it during January

no additions to the midfield?

Messi was the first player to win player of the tournament in world cup twice!,if your Pele really cooked as you are making it out be why didn't he win it

Ibime:


Elon Musk need to provide Starling for free in Nigeria. The lack of knowledge is grievous

How can someone call Benfica a nobody. Even before internet, we knew of the great Benfica team, that dominated Europe. The same Benfica Man Utd threw 40 years celebration after beating them in UCL final in 1968, like they conquered Goliath. Even if you don't know Benfica of early 60s, as a United fan, you will know Benfica of late 60s just from your club documentaries

Benfica won the ucl in 1961-62 consecutively with Eusebio and Coluna, were literally the best team in 1960s and one of the best club sides in history yet someone sitting down in his bedroom eating “mummy thank you” is saying benfica is a nobody.

zeusis:

no additions to the midfield?

nothing concrete either,no serious club will sell their player mid season , unless you are ready to over pay again, Midfield will be heavily looked at during summer, but what Chelsea will focus on, is getting players to sign pre agreements,all this na tuchel fault,told boehly we didn't need Midfielders,now here we are, running Helter skelter ,why the defenders he emphasized, are picking up injuries,worst £250m even spent

Ballzproblem2:
Messi was the first player to win player of the tournament twice!,if your Pele really cooked as you are making it out be why didn't he win it

World Cup golden ball that even FIFA President admitted was fraud

Pele, Maradona and Ronaldo are the only players to be best player twice in World Cups, but they were only awarded once

Pele was best in 1958 - awarded to Didi
Maradona was best in 1990 - awarded to Scillachi
Ronaldo was best in 2002 - awarded to Oliver Khan

These are what the streets know outside of the polling booth. And the streets know Messi 2014 golden boot with zero knockout stage goal contribution was a complete fraud, even the FIFA President that awarded it confessed

Brazil would have won all those finals without Pele goals

In 1958

Brazil was leading 2-1 before he scored

1n 1962

He didn't play in the final

In 1970

He scored first but the goal was cancelled by Boninsegna goal for Italy and the match ended by 4-1 with Jarzinho, Alberto and Gerson scoring the decisive goals

Let’s believe Ibime over FIFA the custodian of world football

Messi 2014 World cup

7 games. 4 MOTM (highest in the tournament)

Ibukzy:
Brazil would have won all those finals without Pele goals

In 1958

Brazil was leading 2-1 before he scored

1n 1962

He didn't play in the final

In 1970

He scored first but the goal was cancelled by Boninsegna goal for Italy and the match ended by 4-1 with Jarzinho Alberto and Gerson scoring the decisive goals

Don't do this

Immortalization incoming

Without Messi's goals there would be no need for Penalties

Expert17:


Don't do this

Expert17:
Messi 2014 World cup

7 games. 4 MOTM (highest in the tournament)

It’s a Fraud, only Pele’s awards are authentic ,
Students of Pele research institute

Bluelines69:
Let’s believe Ibime over FIFA the custodian of world football

You don't need to believe me, believe FIFA President

As FIFA award Oliver Khan over Ronaldo in 2002, you will form mumu or use your own brain?

Afobear:
Immortalization incoming

Where you dey since nah bruh

You know after Christmas, no time to cook like that because of work and other engagements.

Cook this thing make we chop?

Abi you no dey hungry?

Anyways to all penduist...

See below

Bluelines69:


It’s a Fraud, only Pele’s awards are authentic

Suddenly we should believe a disgraced ex-FIFA President

Expert17:


Suddenly we should believe a disgraced ex-FIFA President

Was he not the one dashing Messi Balondo'r?

Expert17:


Suddenly we should believe a disgraced ex-FIFA President

I can’t even figure which player played better than Messi at that 2014 World Cup, Germany were brilliant collectively, links and YouTube videos go soon finish while we enjoy the greatest of all time Live on TV

Ronaldo fan boys trying so hard to defend pele all because of Messi World Cup win

Things we really love to see

Expert17:


Suddenly we should believe a disgraced ex-FIFA President

We should also believe affidavit of how Pele would have won 7 balon d'or if S/American players were given balon d'or....Just wait until Messi wins his 8th balon d'or and watch them add another year when Pele would have won it...

No football player had ever won FIVE man-of-the-match awards in a single World Cup campaign before. Not Pele, not Maradona.

Messi won FIVE at the age of 35 years in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Who can question his greatness?

Ibukzy:
No football player had ever won FIVE man-of-the-match awards in a single World Cup campaign before. Not Pele, not Maradona.

Messi won FIVE at the age of 35 years in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Who can question his greatness?

Infantino to confirm they’re all mistakes soon

Ibukzy:
Brazil would have won all those finals without Pele goals

In 1958

Brazil was leading 2-1 before he scored

1n 1962

He didn't play in the final

In 1970

He scored first but the goal was cancelled by Boninsegna goal for Italy and the match ended by 4-1 with Jarzinho, Alberto and Gerson scoring the decisive goals

Pele scored the first in 1970 final, assisted the second and third - score 4 - 1

Scored 2 and assisted one in 1958 final - score - 5-2

1958 semi final - scored hattrick - score - 5 - 2

1958 quarter final - scored the only goal of the match

Keep up the lamba. Brazil cannot win 1958 or 1970 without Pele. Ask them what happened in 1966

Before Brazil, Pele never won World Cup, after Pele it took them another 24 years to win again

Pele is to Brazil what Argentinians dreamed for Messi only be disappointed for 15 years before Emi Martinez brought the winning formula via penalties

Ibime:


Even if you are deliberately lazy, the 1970 World Cup is available in colour and on all media platforms

You are being deliberately foolish claiming a player with 3 World Cups, 12 non penalty goals, 10 assists in 14 games has no argument against a player with 8 non penalty goals and 8 assists in 25 games

Deliberately foolish claiming a player with 7 Balon d'Ors without playing Europe has no claim against a player with 7 Balon d'Ors in Europe

Deliberately foolish claiming a player with 750 non penalty goals in just 812 games despite playing midfield half his career has no claim against a forward with 682 non penalty goals in 1002 games

Deliberately foolish claiming a guy with 7 World Cup semifinal and final non-penalty goals has no claim against someone with just one

Pele has stood the test of time for 60 years. E no get one angle Messi fit use against Pele

"Deliberately foolish." No need for puerile ad hominems. Relax.

Messi is not the GOAT because he won the World Cup (he still would be the GOAT even if he hadn't won it on Sunday). My argument for why Messi is the better/greater player (than Pele) is because he has more longevity, is the more complete player, has better technique, and because he played and thrived in a more modern and difficult era (against players with better technique and athleticism than those Pele faced). Bonus: he has more flair and his play style is more pretty to look at.

There is now far more money in the game, unlike in Pele's era, meaning there's not much separating traditional football powerhouses from the small fish. It's why countries like Croatia, Morocco, Iceland and Saudi Arabia can now be expected to do well even against teams like Germany and Brazil. There have also been innovations in diet, sports science and technology—meaning players are stronger and faster—and tactical systems have evolved and become far more complex than they were in the 50s and 60s. There's a reason the names of many defenders from that era aren't a staple in the modern imagination. I would like to think that speaks to the middling quality of defenders and defending generally in that era—so unimpressive that not many of their names survived into the modern era.

Pele was a great footballer, but Messi did it in a more difficult and sophisticated era.

You are being deliberately foolish claiming a player with 3 World Cups, 12 non penalty goals, 10 assists in 14 games has no argument against a player with 8 non penalty goals and 8 assists in 25 games

First, put to bed this non-penalty goals strawman. Penalties are a part of the game, are they not? Did you play football in your youth or for a community club? If you did, you will know scoring a penalty demands great skill and mental toughness from a player, perhaps even more than an open play goal in some cases. Which do you think came with more pressure/stress and was more likely to have turned the momentum against Argentina in Sunday's game had either of the players not scored it: Di Maria's shot that produced Argentina's second goal or Messi's shot from the penalty spot? Anyone with the smallest football knowledge knows that the penalty kick was wracked with more tension.

So Messi should have turned down the chance to play the penalties Argentina got? Such primary school logic. I guess Harry Kane deliberately missed his against France, since penalties are so easy and not worthy of being counted as goals.

As I hinted earlier, using team trophies is not a sound way to gauge a player's football ability, for the simple reason that there are many averagely talented footballers with a World Cup and many Champions League titles to their name. It simply is the case of being in the right team at the right time, or in Pele's case, being born in the right country at the right time—would he have won 1, not to talk of 3 World Cups, if he had been born in Yugoslavia and did not play in a Brazil superteam? You are basically premising Pele's football greatness and ability on geographical happenstance. How clever is that.

Football is a team sport—it's lazy reasoning to conclude that more trophies equals better ability. In which case, Dani Alves must be a greater and better footballer than Pele since he's won more trophies than him.

While you are at it, please throw away that Pele has 7 Ballon d'Ors argument. He did not win it during his career and no one cares about whatever hindsight analysis France Football has done. History is never a linear path—no one can say for sure that he would have won that many Ballon d'Ors during his career had it also been awarded to non-Europeans. As talented as Mbappe is, he still hasn't won one at 24.

oliverano:


Where you dey since nah bruh

You know after Christmas, no time to cook like that because of work and other engagements.

Cook this thing make we chop?

Abi you dey hungry?

Anyways to all penduist...

See below

Work choke me ... Who know where I go find money abeg

Afobear:


Work choke me ... Who know where I go find money abeg

Na small small lol

Hustle ooo make penduist no drown you with tears oo

Expert17:


If you already worked out players preferred sides with the GK coach you can dive as the ball is bn kicked. (not called gamble).

This is funny. Every goalkeeper has access to this information so why are some better at saving penalties than others.