[95615] Lionel Messi breaks records: Becomes the greatest goalscorer in World Cup history

Football history: Lionel Messi at the top of the World Cup goalscorers table

As part of the 2026 World Cup matches, Lionel Messi reached a historic milestone when he became the greatest goalscorer in the tournament's history. According to a report by Varzesh3, Messi broke Miroslav Klose's long-standing record of 16 goals after scoring against the Austrian national team, bringing his tally to 17 goals.

The achievement of the 38-year-old Argentine captain received widespread coverage in global and regional media. In Sport Bad News Football World Cup, it was noted that Messi set 10 different historic records in just 135 minutes of the tournament, including being the player with the most appearances, the World Cup's all-time assist leader, and the player to have won the "Man of the Match" award the most times.

Many media outlets, including Iran International and the IRNA news agency, emphasized that beyond scoring goals, Messi is on his way to also becoming the tournament's sole assist leader, surpassing Diego Maradona's record. Experts at Akhbar Varzeshi updated the historic goalscorers table, which now lists after Messi (17 goals) Klose (16), Ronaldo of Brazil (15), and Kylian Mbappé (14 or 15, depending on the source).

The achievement is seen as a full-circle moment for the Argentine star, with various fan channels such as Esteghlal Fan Channel and Persepolis Iran Fan Channel praising "the phenomenon" for his continued dominance throughout six different World Cup tournaments.