"He has spoiled us with his performances." That's Inter Miami head coach Guillermo Hoyos trying to explain what Lionel Messi is doing at the 2026 World Cup — and honestly, it's the most honest thing anyone's said about the man in years.
At 39, Messi is at a record sixth World Cup and sharing the Golden Boot lead with Kylian Mbappé at six goals apiece. Let that sit for a second. The two best players of their respective generations, neck and neck at the top of the scoring charts in a tournament Messi has spent his entire career trying to conquer again.
A record broken, then broken again
He opened Argentina's campaign with a hat-trick against Algeria — which pulled him level with Miroslav Klose as the all-time World Cup top scorer on 16 goals. Then he scored a brace against Austria. Then he came off the bench against Jordan to curl in a free-kick. Three games. Six goals. 19 World Cup strikes in total, the record now his outright.
Hoyos has watched him do this every day in training and in matches for Inter Miami. "What we see from him every day in training and in games, we are now enjoying on the World Cup stage," he said. The coach isn't surprised. The rest of us probably shouldn't be either — though we keep acting like we are.
Luis Suarez, who plays alongside Messi in MLS and has watched him up close for years at Barcelona and now Miami, put it simply: "Words can't do him justice as a player or as a spectator." Coming from someone who has shared dressing rooms with him for over a decade, that's not flattery. That's a witness statement.
What this means beyond the tournament
For Argentina, the picture is straightforward: their all-time leading scorer is in form at the right moment, carrying the team through the group stage almost single-handedly. The defensive shape and midfield structure matter less when Messi is deciding matches on his own.
At club level, he's been equally sharp. Messi sits second in MLS scoring with 12 goals this season and is joint second in assists with seven. Inter Miami's odds of ending the MLS season with silverware get considerably shorter when their main man is in this kind of rhythm — and teams preparing to face Argentina at this World Cup face the same uncomfortable calculation.
He's 39. He has 19 World Cup goals. He's sharing the Golden Boot lead with Mbappé. Hoyos is right — he really has spoiled us.
