Miroslav Klose on Lionel Messi after his hat-trick against Algeria:
🗣️ “When you look at the records he is breaking, you really have to step back for a moment and just appreciate what true greatness looks like at the highest level of football without getting carried away by emotion alone.”
“What Lionel Messi did tonight is not normal at any level of football, not even in World Cup history, because performing like this in an opener under pressure is something extremely rare.”
“A hat-trick in a World Cup opener, taking his total to 16 World Cup goals, and still performing with that level of sharpness, confidence, and control after so many years is honestly unbelievable to witness.”
“I held the record for a long time, and I know exactly how difficult it is to score at this stage of the tournament against top opposition, but what he is doing now goes beyond normal goal scoring standards.”
“He is not just breaking records in a statistical sense, he is completely redefining what consistency, longevity, and elite performance look like across multiple generations of football.”
“Every time you think his story is reaching a natural conclusion, he finds another way to push further, create new milestones, and extend a legacy that already felt untouchable.”
“At this point, you are not comparing him to players of his generation, or even the previous generation anymore, you are comparing him directly to the entire history of football itself.”
“Simply put, what we are witnessing is not just a great career it is one of the most extraordinary and complete football journeys the sport has ever seen.”