Lionel Messi is the 14th man in history to achieve this incredible feat
A Lionel Messi stat that you might really not have seen before, and one which proves that persistence and hard work pays off.
The records keep tumbling with Lionel Messi around, but this one is totally unique.
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Lionel Messi bounces back to claim the ultimate prize
28 players have lost a World Cup final and had the chance to play in it again. Only 14 have rectified that defeat and gone on to win it.Those players are Luis Monti, Franz Beckenbauer, Wolfgang Overath, Pierre Littbarski, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Denilson, Miroslav Klose, Lothar Matthaüs, Thomas Berthold, Andreas Brehme and Lionel Messi.
The great man just wouldn’t be denied.
Lionel’s longevity
Amazingly, there were 25 matches and over 16 years between Messi’s first World Cup appearance (June 2006) and his World Cup triumph (December 2022), the longest such gap in history. Talk about longevity. Incidentally, he’s the only player in World Cup history to score a goal in his teens, his 20s and his 30s.
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With seven goals in seven games at Qatar 2022 he became the first player to score in each round of a World Cup since the last-16 round was introduced in 1986. In the final, Messi became the player with most minutes played in World Cup history (2,314), surpassing Paolo Maldini. He also surpassed Pelé as player with most goal contributions in World Cup history (21; 13 goals, 8 assists). Pele had 20 (12/8).
Lionel Messi stats: The Foot of God
The GOAT?
Diego Maradona never won Copa América, Pelé never played in Europe, Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, aka R9, never won the Champions League, and Cristiano Ronaldo never won the World Cup. Messi doesn’t have any of those problems. A once-in-a-lifetime combination of goal-scoring and goal-creating, the likes of which we will never see again.
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Meanwhile, you can get more insights, analysis and love for the beautiful game from James Freemantle
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