REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli | Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports | Mark Leech/ Offside Sports via US PRESSWIRE
International soccer superstar and Argentinian national Lionel Messi
Despite turning 39 years old tomorrow, Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi remains as dominant as ever, as he leads the 2026 World Cup’s Golden Boot race with five goals after just two matches. Messi also recently overtook Miroslav Klose with the most goals in World Cup history (18).
Oddly enough, Lionel Messi’s record of 18 World Cup goals (and counting) is one that seems unlikely to stand the test of time, as France’s Kylian Mbappe — at just 27 years old — is at 16 World Cup goals and counting after scoring braces (two goals) in France’s first two matches at the 2026 World Cup.
como posso explicar que o goldenboy de 2005 tá disputando (e liderando) a artilharia da copa do mundo contra os vencedores de 2017 e de 2020 pic.twitter.com/KKmXOf8GUa
— eduardo (@eudwardo) June 23, 2026
While Messi’s place atop the all-time World Cup goal scorer list may not last forever, he has plenty of records to his name that will likely never be broken.
Here are some of the records that Lionel Messi has set that will likely never be broken
1. 91 goals in a calendar year (2012) — the second-place record is Germany’s Gerd Muller’s 85 goals in 1972
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Lionel Messi has been on another planet for almost 20 years now
2. Eight Ballon d’Or awards — Ronaldo is in second with five
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It's been argued Messi should have won the Ballon D'Or every year he's played
3. 474 La Liga goals — the all-time record in Spain’s top flight; Ronaldo is second with 311
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Messi dominated European football during his time with Barcelona
4. 414 official assists (and counting) — the most ever recorded in football history
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Messi is both an otherworldly scorer and provider
5. 26 El Clasico goals — Ronaldo is second with 18 El Clasico goals
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Messi and Ronaldo went head-to-head in El Clasico for years
6. 192 La Liga assists, 116 braces, 36 hat-tricks — all La Liga records
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The most iconic years of Messi's career came at Barcelona
7. Only player to score 20+ goals and register 20+ assists in a single La Liga season
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Messi won four Champions League titles with Barcelona
8. Six European Golden Shoes — first and only player to win that many; Ronaldo is in second with four
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Messi has spent recent years dominating MLS with Inter Miami
9. Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer with 672 goals — second place is Cesar Rodriguez, who played for the club from 1942-1955
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Messi has solidified his status as the greatest player of all-time
With their 2-0 win over Austria on Monday, Messi and Argentina head into their final group stage match against Jordan in a prime position to win Group J. The defending World Cup champions, the Argentines look poised to make another deep run in the tournament on the back of Messi’s spellbinding form.
While nothing is official, based on current standings, Argentina’s road to the semifinal could include matchups against Cape Verde in the Round of 32, Egypt in the Round of 16, and Colombia in the Quarterfinals.
If Argentina do win the 2026 World Cup, they’ll become just the third nation to win back-to-back World Cup titles alongside Italy in 1934 and 1938, and Brazil in 1958 and 1962.