Zlatan Ibrahimovic hails Lionel Messi for breaking the all-time FIFA World Cup goal record. The Swedish legend stated Messi is in a 'category of his own', towering over Pele and Maradona, after the Argentine scored twice to reach 18 WC goals.
Former football player and legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic has hailed Lionel Messi's feat on breaking the all-time FIFA World Cup goal record, stating that the Argentinian ace is in a "category of his own", towering over even legends like Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff.
Messi's brace not only won his side their clash against Austria, but also brought him above Miroslav Klose (16 goals) as the leading goal-scorer in the history of the FIFA World Cup, with 18 goals. He also equalled the record of France's Just Fontaine and Brazil's Jairzinho by putting his name on the scoresheet in his sixth successive WC game.
'Messi in a category of his own'
Following the match, Ibrahimovic spoke on Fox Sports as quoted by Goal.com, "I do not think there is any debate left now. When you become the all-time top scorer in World Cup history, win the thing, dominate it across different generations, and keep producing at 38 years of age, what more do people want?"
"We spend years comparing him to everyone else, but even the greats before him cannot match the complete body of work. Pele, [Diego] Maradona, [Johan] Cruyff, whoever you want to name, they were all brilliant, but Messi's numbers, longevity, and trophies put him in a category of his own," he added.
Messi's double came after a hat-trick against Algeria in the campaign opener, which takes his goal tally to five. With his first WC hat trick against Algeria and breaking the world record for most goals in the next game, the World Cup-winning superstar is grabbing the majority of the headlines.
A Light-Hearted Comparison
The former AC Milan and Barcelona star, though, who played for Sweden, offered a light-hearted comparison between himself and Messi, pointing out that he has not scored in two World Cups.
"Five goals in two games. I have zero goals in two World Cups," Ibrahimovic added.
"So, I am happy for him, and I hope he continues. His birthday is in a couple of days, so let him enjoy, because we're all enjoying him by seeing him play so, amazing, just amazing, no words," he continued.
"People can talk about Argentina as a collective, their tactics and the way they control games, but there always seems to be one constant when they need something special, Lionel Messi," he signed off.
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