Lionel Messi appears to have finally settled the debate over who the best footballer of all time is after winning the World Cup in Qatar.
Footballing legends from across the globe felt the 35-year-old had earned the title after emulating another Argentinian number 10 by guiding his nation to their first World Cup in 32 years.
Messi opened the scoring with a first-half penalty and got the eventual shoot-out off to the perfect start with an incredibly coolly taken spot-kick.
In Jamie Carragher's eyes, the performance was enough to place him above anyone in the history of the game, as he tweeted a list of great players with Messi in first, Diego Maradona second, and Cristiano Ronaldo down in fourth.
2014 World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger shared his sentiments, tweeting that the diminutive Argentinian had 'finally crowned his great career.'
For many, including England's Declan Rice and Tammy Abraham, Messi is now simply 'the best ever' and 'greatest of all time', while Alan Shearer said the win was 'written in the stars.'
Hockey star Sam Quek added that the debate had been 'fun while it lasted' but that it was now 'finished. Settled. Confirmed.'
There were those who refrained from commenting on the GOAT debate and focused instead on the performance, including famous Ronaldo fan Piers Morgan who instead congratulated 'Messi and his team' after an 'incredible game'.
Even YouTuber-turned boxer Jake Paul weighed in as he praised Messi as the 'greatest athlete athlete of all time' and offered commiseration's to his opponent Kylian Mbappe, who became just the second man in history to score a hattrick in a World Cup final but still ended up on the losing team.
Argentina's World Cup win marks the end up a thrilling campaign that started with a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia and saw them blow a 2-0 lead twice during the knockout stages.
It will bring redemption to Messi after the disappointment of 2014, and seems to have ended any debates over his places in football's pantheon of legends.
maturidikxith
219
i think everything he done for football , as a cr7 fan i think he is no. 1 now🐐
Amgnonijunior
135
Brazilian striker Fred right now 👇👇
Tyzzz
111
I can't believe Messi vs Ronaldo was a debate🤣🤣🤣
Bashir♡TK
87
World Cup 🪙 Olympic Games Gold 🪙 Copa America 🪙 11 league titles ✔🇪🇸🇫🇷 4 Champions League trophies✔ 7 ballon d'or awards✔ Add the rest..... Messi is surely the Greatest of All time,unless critics want him to win the AFCON next 😂😂
emabkr42
78
Truly The GOAT of Football ⚽
FrankUtd
75
Mpappe single handedly fought for Ronaldo to maintain the GOAT debate but he who his God has blessed no one can curse. Lionel Messi football mission is officially completed and he is the GOAT 🐐. The GOAT debate was officially ended by Emiliano Martinez. We, Ronaldo fans has conceded defeat and moved on Done and Dusted 👏👏 CONGRATULATIONS THE KING 👑
N0_N0NsENSE
58
If you ever think life is being hard on you, think about this guy who so many finals, almost gave up, was criticised, even hated by his own people, shirts were burnt, everyone was so brutal, but this guy here came back, fought like a beast, and he won it, against all odds.🐐
Heywhy25
42
this picture is giving me joy.
saurav5105
31
We don't care about the debate about who is GOAT we care about Messi and his dream of winning the most prestigious Cup. Finally in the name of God they have done it. Thank you God. Argentina deserve this
Elijay
27
Even @JoyNG is crying painfully, can someone check on him
Pekinosuz
14
I am cru fans but this man is the real GOAT ...
Graphics1000
9
120+3' save from Emiliano Martinez saved Argentina's World Cup 🇦🇷💙