Ronaldo: ‘I Was 120kg at 38,’ Hails Messi

Bangla Press Desk:   Lionel Messi has received glowing praise from Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario after surpassing Miroslav Klose to become the highest goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history.

Messi achieved the feat after scoring both goals in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria in their latest World Cup match. The brace took the Argentine captain’s tally to 18 goals in 28 World Cup appearances, moving him ahead of former Germany striker Klose, who had held the record with 16 goals since the 2014 tournament.

Klose himself had broken Ronaldo’s long-standing record of 15 goals, set during the 2006 World Cup.

Messi had equalled Klose’s tally by scoring a hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina’s opening match of the current tournament. He then overtook the German great with another two-goal display against Austria.

Following the match, Klose congratulated Messi and described him as the greatest footballer of all time. Ronaldo echoed those sentiments, insisting that no one is more deserving of the record.

Speaking to French sports daily L'Equipe, the Brazilian icon said: “These statistics prove, before the football gods, that he has surpassed everyone. If anyone deserves to be the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, it is certainly Messi.”

Ronaldo also praised Messi’s longevity, noting that the Argentine was 38 years and 363 days old when he faced Austria.

“At 38, my God! I had retired four years earlier and weighed 120 kilograms by then,” Ronaldo joked.

All-time World Cup leading scorers

A list of the World Cup's all-time leading scorers after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a double on Tuesday:

18 - Lionel Messi (ARG)

16 - Miroslav Klose (GER), Kylian Mbappe (FRA)

15 - Ronaldo (BRA)

14 - Gerd Mueller (GER)

13 - Just Fontaine (FRA)

12 - Pele (BRA)

11 - Jurgen Klinsmann (GER), Sandor Kocsis (HUN)

10 - Gabriel Batistuta (ARG), Harry Kane (ENG), Helmut Rahn (GER), Gary Lineker (ENG), Teofilo Cubillas (PER), Thomas Mueller (GER), Grzegorz Lato (POL), Cristiano Ronaldo (POR) Source: daily Sun

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