WILL CLARK - World champion Lionel Messi proved he is one for the ages
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Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup which many people thinks now cements his place as the greatest footballer of all time.
But should his victory in the World Cup be his happy ending on his illustrious career where he has now won everything in the game?
Messi confirmed he will continue to be available for selection for Argentina as he wants to play in a team which are world champions.
At 35, I guess he does have a few more years left in him on the international stage and there was no doubt he was the player of the tournament.
Could he play in for Argentina at the 2026 World Cup at the age of 39?
You wouldn’t put anything past this man, who can now rightfully claim to be one of the greatest footballers of all time.
He is certainly the best footballer of his generation, but I have always struggled with the concept of calling anyone the best player in the history of the game.
Each era has had their superstars, for example, you try and argue with anyone over the age of 60 there was a better footballer than Pele.
There is also still an argument if Messi is a better player than Diego Maradona, who single handedly dragged an average Argentina team to World Cup glory in 1986.
Messi could be claimed to have done the same in Qatar, but that might be unfair on the likes of Alexis Mac Allister who I felt had a great world cup.
Growing up in the 1990’s and 2000’s, I watched Zinedine Zidane, who while a different type of player to those mentioned above, was the total footballer as far I am concerned.
Also at the World Cup final on Sunday, perhaps we saw a man who might take the mantle as the greatest ever over the next 10-15 years.
Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick against Argentina on Sunday and still ended up on the losing side.
However, the 23-year-old at least had the consolation of winning the World Cup with France four years ago and has at least another two or three World Cups in the future to add to his medal collection. Mbappé has now scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup matches, the same amount as Pele did, and he is on course to score the most goals in World Cup history, should France continue their progression.
Everyone will have an argument to who they think is the greatest footballer of all time, but whatever your opinion of Messi, there is no arguing he will go down as one of the greats. Many people before the tournament said enjoy Messi while you can and he probably saved his best World Cup performance for Qatar. In Argentina in the past, many fans previously questioned whether Messi saved his best for Barcelona rather than his country.
But any question of the Paris St Germain superstar’s commitment to his country can not be questioned after a terrific tournament.
I wrote Argentina off after they suffered defeat to Saudi Arabia during the group stages. But what Argentina and Messi have proved during this World Cup is form is temporary, class is permanent.
