Unaware of his own greatness

While fans and pundits fixate on the numbers, Messi apparently prefers to stay entirely in the dark. The revelation came directly from the locker room after Messi became the first player in football history to feature in six different World Cup tournaments, a feat he capped off by matching Miroslav Klose’s all-time tournament scoring record.

As reported by Digi Sport in an article titled Leo Messi exposed by his Argentina teammates: “I swear he doesn’t know them, we tell him”, midfielder Rodrigo De Paul clarified that the phrase “doesn’t know them” actually refers to Messi’s dizzying array of records, rather than his teammates or the people around him. While the phrasing in the original report led to a humorous mix-up making it sound like he didn’t recognize anyone, De Paul’s locker-room insight shows that Messi simply ignores his personal statistics.

“I swear to you, he doesn’t care at all,” De Paul remarked. “Sometimes, when he’s sitting in his room drinking mate, we tell him, ‘Look, watch out, you only need one or two more goals to break that record.’ But I swear he doesn’t even know about those things. How it’s possible, I don’t know, but Messi truly doesn’t pay attention to that stuff even a little bit.”

Historic night in Kansas City

On the pitch, Messi’s lack of awareness regarding statistics did nothing to hinder his performance. At 38 years old, the veteran forward put on a clinic at the Kansas City Stadium, single-handedly dismantling Algeria’s defense. He opened the scoring in the 17th minute, a moment that visibly overwhelmed him with emotion, before adding two more clinical finishes in the 60th and 76th minutes to secure a dominant three points for the reigning world champions.

Read also: Rafael van der Vaart faces backlash over 'racist' comments about Japan players

The performance made Messi the oldest player to score a hat-trick in World Cup history, shattering a record previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo. Algerian manager Vladimir Petkovic could only offer praise after the whistle, noting that Messi essentially decided the match on his own. For the Inter Miami star, however, the milestones remain secondary to the joy of playing, proving that his legendary status is driven by pure passion rather than a pursuit of numbers.

Read also: Messi shines as heavyweights assert dominance: The World Cup, while you were asleep