It is June 24, 2026, and as the football world celebrates Lionel Messi’s 39th birthday, the sport finds itself witnessing something extraordinary — a player many already consider the greatest ever somehow returning to the World Cup stage looking even more devastating than before.
For years, the debate around Messi’s legacy had largely ended after that unforgettable night at Lusail Stadium in December 2022, when the Argentine magician finally lifted the one trophy missing from his glittering collection and delivered what many believed was the perfect ending to the greatest career football has ever seen.
Messi, however, had other plans.
At 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, the Argentine captain has somehow elevated himself yet again. He has started exactly where he left off in Qatar, where his brace in the iconic final against France sealed immortality.
Four years later, his numbers are becoming even more absurd.
After smashing his first ever World Cup hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina’s opener, Messi followed it up with another breathtaking brace in a 2-0 win over Austria, taking his tally to five goals in just two matches – all five Argentina goals so far belonging to one man.
More importantly, the first strike against Austria carried him to 17 career World Cup goals, surpassing German legend Miroslav Klose to become the highest scorer in World Cup history.
And remarkably, he is doing this at an age where footballers are expected to be winding down.
At 38 years and 357 days, Messi became the oldest player ever to score a World Cup hat-trick against Algeria, breaking the previous record held by Cristiano Ronaldo. He has now scored in five different World Cups, played a record six editions, owns the most World Cup appearances and continues adding new milestones almost every matchday.
For defending champions Argentina, everything still revolves around Messi – tactically, emotionally and creatively – and so far the formula looks unstoppable.
Perhaps age has changed him physically, but what the world is witnessing now is the most mature and technically refined version of Messi: conserving energy, choosing moments perfectly, controlling games with intelligence and still deciding matches with ruthless efficiency.
Yet even as Messi continues redefining greatness, the next generation is charging hard behind him.
Kylian Mbappé, already a World Cup winner at 19 in 2018 and heartbreakingly denied despite a historic hat-trick in the 2022 final against Argentina, has opened this tournament with back-to-back braces for France.
At only 27, Mbappé already has 16 World Cup goals – equalling Klose and sitting just two behind Messi in significantly fewer World Cup matches, underlining a frightening trajectory.
Then comes Erling Haaland.
Playing his first World Cup at 25 because Norway rarely reaches football’s biggest stage, the Norwegian striker has announced himself emphatically with consecutive braces, firing his nation into the knockout rounds.
The baton may eventually pass.
But as football celebrates Messi at 39, the world is being reminded that perhaps the greatest player ever is still not finished writing history. For now, even the future belongs to him.
