Lionel Messi plays down World Cup goals record, calls it 'only a statistic' | OneFootball

Lionel Messi struck a hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria to join Miroslav Klose atop the men’s World Cup scoring chart on 16 goals, yet he played the milestone down. As reported by L'Équipe, the 38-year-old stressed the achievement was not especially meaningful to him.

The treble came overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday, marking a winning start to Argentina’s 2026 campaign. Those three goals moved the captain to 16 at World Cups, level with Klose, previously the competition’s outright top scorer.

Messi said it was an honour to sit alongside Klose and other greats such as Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé, but maintained it was only a statistic and nothing more.

Team-mate Alexis Mac Allister hailed the No 10’s display, saying there were no words to capture Messi’s impact. He added that while some had claimed the group functioned better without him, it now seemed clear Messi remained the most important figure.

Already a world champion in 2022, Messi could move clear at the summit as soon as Argentina’s next outing. A few hours earlier, Mbappé took his tally to 14 after his brace against Senegal, a 3-1 result.

Source: L'Équipe