Ronaldo and Messi next: The trio that played in five World Cup finals

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have both failed to win the World Cup, but Qatar 2022 could see them join an even more exclusive list – becoming the fourth and fifth player to appear at five Coupe du Mondes. 

It’s a remarkable achievement and one that is a testament to the longevity of their careers and a reminder of how long they’ve been playing at the top level.

It’s unsurprising that only three people in history have played at five different World Cups, for it requires you to be at the very pinnacle of the sport for at least 16 years, and that’s even assuming your nation qualifies.

But with advancements in sports science, we may see more players hit the mark in the coming years.

At the Qatar World Cup, alongside Messi and Ronaldo we could see Mexico’s Andres Guardado and Sergio Ramos achieve the rare feat, although Ramos has been out of the Spain reckoning recently and has struggled for fitness so it is unlikely he’ll make it.

Goalkeepers stand the best chance of playing at the World Cup five times, and while Gianluigi Buffon has been at five World Cups he did not make an appearance in 1998.

Likewise, Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa could attend his fifth this winter but has only played at the last two.

So here are the only three players to have played at five World Cups in no particular order; two names you probably won’t have heard of, and one true legend.

Carbajal was a Mexican goalkeeper quite literally nick-named El Cinco Copas after, get this, the five World Cups he went to. You’d have never have guessed it.

He played in every World Cup between and including Brazil 1950 and England 1966, playing for Club Leon most of his career.

But the Mexican shot-stopper didn’t have the greatest of international records,