Recently, I noticed an interesting phenomenon on social media—many people are posting goat emojis next to athletes, and I often see the word GOAT. At first, I thought it was just literally a goat, but then I realized it’s an abbreviation for “Greatest of All Time,” meaning “the best in history.”

The meaning of goat is actually that simple, but very few athletes have earned this title. In the football world, only Messi and Ronaldo are widely recognized as GOATs. These two have been competing against each other for 20 years, starting from when they were 17, breaking countless records. They’ve scored over 40 goals every year for 17 consecutive years, and have won numerous awards and assists—such achievements are truly only accomplished by them.

Interestingly, Messi even printed a goat image on his jersey sleeve to commemorate this identity. Besides football, legends like Federer, Jordan, and Tom Brady are also considered GOATs. However, recently some people are speculating—if Manchester City’s Haaland continues playing like this, could he also have a chance to break Messi and Ronaldo’s records? It seems this topic is becoming increasingly popular online.