Messi's record 18 World Cup goals cement longevity, redefine greatness

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, June 22 : Two days from turning 39, already older than Diego Maradona was when he retired from soccer, Lionel Messi cannot stop breaking records.

On Monday, the Argentina captain added another line to a career that includes magic, greatness and drama, scoring twice in a 2-0 win over Austria to become the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer, with 18.

The icing on top of an already well-iced cake, the double saw him move past Brazil's Marta (17) and Germany's Miroslav Klose (16).

"I've always said that Messi is not bad," Klose joked to the Suddeutsche Zeitung, describing him as the greatest player of all time. Marta, meanwhile, posted applause emojis on Instagram.

HISTORY REWRITTEN

An eight-times Ballon d'Or winner, Messi became La Liga's all-time top scorer during a Barcelona tenure that spanned nearly two decades and yielded 34 trophies, including 10 Spanish league and four Champions League titles.

The Spanish team banked on the Rosario-born, Newell's Old Boys-formed Messi since a very young age.

In 2012, he had already been responsible for what many describe as the greatest year a player has had in soccer, with 91 goals.

Across club soccer he owns a record 40 titles, while for Argentina he stands alone as the most-capped player with 201 appearances and the all-time leading scorer with 122 goals.

Messi, a father of three, has now also rewritten World Cup longevity.

Six tournaments played and a record 28 matches. The only player to score in the tournament as a teenager, in his 20s and in his 30s. Now, on the cusp of 40, he has authored one of the tournament's most striking statistical triumphs.

LONG-AWAITED ARGENTINA GLORY

The Argentina glory, however, took time to arrive.

Messi burst onto the global stage