A new Goat, a new King
The 2022 World Cup final not only proved to be the best ever, it also proved to be a handing over ceremony
Match 64. The greatest football match of them all.
The World Cup final is the single most viewed, most followed sporting event in the world. The Russia 2018 final — which saw France defeat Croatia in Moscow — was seen by 1.19 billion people. And while figures for the Qatar 2022 World Cup final are yet to be released, it is expected to cross the 1.5 billion mark — a record.
And so it was fitting for Sunday’s final at the Lusail Stadium in Doha to turn out to be perhaps the most entertaining final ever. Argentina’s 3–3 (4–2 on penalties) draw with France was one many did not see coming, with the game bursting to life late on with a French resurgence after they had gone down by two goals.
The match billed as the Messi v Mbappe final more than lived up to that expectation, with the duo — teammates at club level — scoring five out of the six goals.
For Messi, this was perhaps his last dance. At 35, the talismanic Argentinian captain was hoping the football gods would grant him a dream farewell, and it happened. The consensus amidst rival fans that Messi or his rival Cristiano Ronaldo had to win the World Cup to be considered football’s Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) became settled on Sunday night, with Messi finally lifting football’s holy grail.
It is hard to fault Messi fans who now feel his status as the GOAT is confirmed. Since becoming squad captain in 2011, Messi has won it all for the Albiceleste — every possible major trophy there is to win at international level: the Copa America, the Finalissima, and the World Cup. He has even won the U-20 World Cup and Olympic gold at youth level. The diminutive genius also has an unreal collection of club level trophies, with 34 honours won across 18 years, including 11 league titles, four Champions Leagues and three Club World Cups.
Individually, no player in history is more accomplished than Messi. He has a record seven Ballon d’Ors in his cabinet, two FIFA World Cup golden balls, two Copa America best player awards, and a record six European golden shoes.
In Qatar, Messi picked up five Man of the Match awards out of seven to eventually be named the tournament’s best player. He scored seven goals — the second highest at the tournament.
The man who beat Messi for goals is a 23-year-old who, as Messi is bowing out, is only just getting started. Kylian Mbappe scored a hat trick in the final, taking his Qatar tally to eight goals, in the process becoming the first player to score a final hat trick since Sir Geoff Hurst for England in 1966.
With only two tournaments to his name, Mbappe has now scored 12 World Cup goals in 14 appearances, the sixth highest ever. He is just four goals away from the all-time record (16) held by German Miroslav Klose, who achieved that feat in 24 games.
Mbappe, who is 12 years younger than Messi, is also just a goal behind the Argentinian in the all-time World Cup top scorers rankings, having played 12 games fewer, and with Messi having played three tournaments more. And to think Mbappe has at least three more World Cups to go.
With four goals in two finals, Mbappe has also now scored more World Cup final goals than anybody else, writing his name in the history books.
While Messi leaves the stage arguably as the GOAT, Mbappe takes over as football’s new King — on his way to putting his name in GOAT conversations in years to come.
The last 15 years or so has seen the reign of Messi and Ronaldo, and at the rate he is going, the next 15 is likely to see Mbappe singularly making the throne his own.
It is frightening just how much Mbappe has achieved when he still yet to turn 25.
The ridiculously talented Frenchman is head and shoulders above every footballer of his generation (perhaps Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland comes closest).
Incredibly, for someone who is at least five years away from his expected peak years, Mbappe has already won 14 major trophies for club and country, including five league titles, the World Cup and the UEFA Nations League (where he finished as Golden Boot winner).
He has scored 221 times in 309 games at club level, and 36 goals in 66 caps at international level. That’s over 250 career goals. To put it in context, Cristiano Ronaldo reached 250 career goals in 510 games; Messi reached that figure in 379 games. Mbappe has reached 250 goals in 360 games.
This season, Mbappe will become the first player to unseat both Messi and Ronaldo as football’s top earning player, as he is expected to rake in $110 million on the pitch and $18 million off the pitch. Messi and Ronaldo only crossed the $100 million mark in their 30s, and Mbappe has reached that milestone just over seven years earlier.
Mbappe has also been named in the Fifpro World XI twice already, has been named in the World Cup Dream Team and won the Best Young Player award at the Mundial, and has won the Kopa Trophy and the Golden Boy, two of football’s most prestigious awards for young players.
He has been crowned French Player of the Year twice, Ligue 1 Player of the Year three times, and has top-scored in the Ligue 1 four times. In 2019, he won the Onze d’Or for best European player, and in 2021 won the Globe Best Soccer Player of the year.
In the wake of the Messi-Ronaldo era, the golden boy of French football is set to become the golden boy of World Football, with a first Ballon d’Or on the horizon. The Messi v Mbappe final, the battle of the accomplished against the promising, also turned out to be a momentous handing over ceremony.
With Messi having wrapped up his legacy with the World Cup, and with Ronaldo crashing out of Qatar in tears to mark the end of a great age, football will now be ruled by King Kylian for years to come. The Mbappe era is upon us.
