A Perfect Loop Spanning Over Twenty Years: At 38, Messi Turns Records into Routine

As the ball crosses the goal line again, Kansas City is completely set alight. At the 2026 USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup, 38-year-old Messi, with two signature goals, raised his total goals in World Cup history to 18. That night, he not only overtook Germany legend Klose to officially claim the throne as the all-time World Cup top scorer, but also completed a perfect loop that spans a full twenty years.

Messi’s World Cup story began on that summer night in 2006. At 19, he came on as a substitute, and within just a short dozen minutes, he delivered a goal and an assist, announcing to the world the arrival of a genius. Back then, Messi was Argentina’s agile wide-edge spark—the young eagle beginning to show its sharpness beneath the wings of his predecessors. However, the road to greatness is never smooth. The confusion and loneliness of South Africa 2010, the regret of staring at the Hercules Cup after the 2014 Brazil final, and the lone-man stand in Russia 2018 formed the backdrop of the first half of his World Cup journey. He tried to shoulder the entire team by himself, yet repeatedly missed out on the highest honor at critical crossroads where fate intersected.

The real transformation happened in Qatar in 2022. At 35, Messi was no longer fixated on long runs and solo breakthroughs; instead, within the tactical system built by Scaloni, he completed his evolution from terminator to field commander. That World Cup, he played all 7 matches, scored 7 goals, and provided 3 assists—becoming the only player in history to score in every stage of a single tournament. When he calmly slotted home the penalty in the final and lifted the Hercules Cup high, those past regrets finally turned into a celebration worthy of a coronation. This was not only success on the tactical level, but also fulfillment on the mental level: he learned to reconcile with the passage of time, and to coexist in symbiosis with the team.

Now in 2026, as Messi is about to turn 39, he shows the world what “the older you get, the more dangerous you become” looks like at its extreme, perfectly embodying the truth of “whether a Ferrari is old or not, it’s still a Ferrari.” In the opening match against Algeria, he produced his first World Cup hat-trick in his personal World Cup career, equaling a long-sealed historical record; and against Austria, he added two more goals to complete his leap beyond history. Today’s Messi may no longer have the most astonishing running distances, but his ability to read the game has reached a level of mastery. He retreats into the midfield hub, using precise orchestration and lethal through balls to tear open the defense, saving his stamina for the most decisive finishes.

If young Messi was a top-tier sports car sprinting at full speed and roaring through the bends, then now he is a “limited-edition Ferrari” that turns every drop of fuel into ultimate power with pinpoint precision. He no longer chases records; instead, he has become the record itself. In this coronation spanning 20 years, he not only owns the World Cup all-time top scorer spot with 18 goals, but also breaks age-limit records at 38 years and 357 days old—such as the oldest hat-trick and the oldest brace—becoming the first all-round player in World Cup history to have both a goal and an assist across 5 tournaments.

Time has carved wrinkles into his face, but it has never taken away the light in his eyes. When Messi opens his arms to celebrate on the pitch, we can still almost see the shadow of that 19-year-old from 2006. This is an epic with no endpoint. It tells the world: as long as love remains, legends will never fade from the stage; as long as the engine still roars, Ferrari will always be the brightest king on the track. #我的Gate交易时刻