Messi opened Argentina’s World Cup title defense with a hat trick and a share of the all-time scoring record, adding another chapter to his case as soccer’s greatest player ever.
Full stop: I’m no die-hard soccer fan. I tune in for the big moments — the World Cup, the Champions League final, the kind of games that end up on your timeline whether you follow the sport or not. And in those moments, the way many casual fans do, I’ve always gravitated toward Cristiano Ronaldo. The goals, the highlights, the sheer spectacle of the guy. He was easy to root for if you didn’t know enough to have a more nuanced opinion. So that’s where I landed. Team Ronaldo, loosely, in the way you pick a side when you don’t have a dog in the fight.
But on Tuesday night in Kansas City, Lionel Messi scored a hat trick in the World Cup opener against Algeria. His first ever on this stage. At 38 years old. In his sixth World Cup. And I’m done pretending.
Let me be clear about what happened. Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute on a feed from Rodrigo De Paul, added a second early in the second half off a rebound, then stepped back to the top of the penalty box and struck a rocket for his third. He was substituted off in the 80th minute to a standing ovation from an Arrowhead Stadium crowd that was bowing — actually bowing — in his direction. The three goals moved him to 16 in World Cup history, putting him in a tie with Germany’s Miroslav Klose for the all-time record. He did this two weeks before his 39th birthday. He did this the same way he has always done everything — quietly, efficiently, and at a level nobody else on earth can reach.
The truth is that Messi hardly needed Tuesday night. For millions of fans, he has occupied the top spot for years, his name already placed above icons like Pelé, Diego Maradona, and Johan Cruyff, with only Ronaldo remaining as a serious modern counterargument. The World Cup triumph in 2022 pushed many holdouts over the line. This latest performance didn’t rewrite the story so much as underline it in permanent marker: Another record, another historic moment, and another reminder that even at 38, Messi is still adding evidence to a case that was already remarkably difficult to challenge.
But the World Cup always felt like the place where the debate tilted slightly in Cristiano’s favor. Ronaldo took Portugal to a final. Ronaldo scored in five straight World Cups. The tournament, for all of Messi’s brilliance, felt like a place where he left something on the table. Then came 2022, and he won the whole thing. And now this — a hat trick in the opener of the defense, the first of the tournament, and a tie for the all-time scoring record.
There are no more arguments. I’ve checked. I’ve been through all of them. Trophies: Messi. Individual awards: Messi. Head-to-head: Messi. International football: Used to be Ronaldo, then Messi won the Copa América, then he won the World Cup, and now he’s doing this. He is the best player who ever lived, and I have spent years arguing otherwise, and I am tired.
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What makes Tuesday night particularly hard to dismiss is the context around it. Messi’s participation in this World Cup was genuinely in doubt for months — a hamstring injury picked up during an Inter Miami match had the football world holding its breath. He is 38. He plays in MLS, which is not exactly the Champions League. The questions about whether he still had it at this level were legitimate, and I would know because I was asking them. Then he walked out in Kansas City and scored three times in 80 minutes against a team that gave him very little to work with, and the answer was so emphatic that Patrick Mahomes, who was in the stands watching, posted three goat emojis and called it a night.
That’s the thing about Messi that I’ve never been able to fully reconcile with my Ronaldo loyalties. Cristiano may be the greatest athlete to ever play football: the physical gifts, the work ethic, the longevity, it’s unmatched. But Messi is the greatest footballer. The touch, the vision, the ability to make the game look effortless while simultaneously doing things nobody else can do; that’s a different category. And at some point, the greatest footballer and the greatest player are the same person. I just didn’t want to admit it.
Argentina defends its title this summer. Messi ties the all-time World Cup scoring record in Game 1. He’s a week from 39, yet still plays like he’s 27 when the moment demands it. Kylian Mbappé is chasing the record with 14 goals of his own, which means the rest of this tournament is going to be the greatest individual scoring race the World Cup has ever seen, and Messi is already in the lead.
Look, I’m a Ronaldo fan and probably always will be. CR7 gave me some of the best moments I’ve ever had watching the sport, and his record across 20-plus years at the top of the game deserves every bit of respect it gets. But Messi is the GOAT. He has been for a while, and Tuesday night in Kansas City just made it impossible to say otherwise with a straight face.
I’m done fighting it.
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