Former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic had nothing but praise for Lionel Messi, the man he played alongside during his time at Barcelona, after the Argentine became the all-time record goal-scorer in FIFA World Cup history. Zlatan, who also played for some of the biggest clubs across Europe, including Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, trolled himself as he highlighted his own poor goal-scoring record in FIFA World Cups. In total, Zlatan featured in two FIFA World Cups during his career for Sweden, appearing in 11 matches, but he never managed to score a single goal.
Speaking on Fox Sports, Zlatan said that Messi’s goal-scoring record is so incredible that he does not even look human.
“You have moments where he looks human by missing the penalty. Then you have the moments when he doesn’t look human. That’s Messi. So far it’s his World Cup and he didn’t play against Jordan yet. So I don’t know where it will finish,” Ibrahimovic said.
“Five goals in two games. I have zero goals in two World Cups. So I’m happy for him and I hope he continues,” the former Sweden striker added, jokingly trolling himself.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic with nothing but huge praise for Messi pic.twitter.com/TecBQ0my0X
— AM (@AbsoluteMxssi) June 22, 2026
After the match against Austria, in which Messi scored a brace, the Argentine legend spoke of enjoying the moment with his team-mates rather than thinking too much about the future.
“I’m tired, I don’t have much energy left and I’m finding it hard to think straight. I’m just going to enjoy this moment and celebrate it with my teammates. I’m making the most of the moment and I want to see how far we can go together. Today, there was that [missed] penalty, but perhaps I wouldn’t have scored the other goals if it had gone in,” Messi said, as quoted by FIFA.
With his double against Austria, Messi also became just the second player in men’s FIFA World Cup history to score four or more goals in three different editions of the tournament (2014, 2022 and 2026). The only other player to achieve this remarkable feat is Germany’s Miroslav Klose.
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