‘Lionel Messi evolved once again’ says Holger Badstuber, who labels Argentine ‘the GOAT’ after World Cup win

The World Cup was the only major piece of silverware missing from Messi’s trophy cabinet after a stunning career.

He scored seven goals in Qatar, including two in the final, which Argentina dramatically won on penalties against defending champions France.

Portugal were stunned by Morocco in the quarter-finals and Badstuber thinks this tournament will be remembered for Ronaldo’s long-time rival.

“It was Lionel Messi’s World Cup, not Cristiano Ronaldo’s,” he said. “He put himself in the headlines in a negative way. It started with Manchester United and continued in Qatar.

“However, I’m not going to pick on him like others are currently doing. He continues to be one of the greatest for me, I will continue to give him that respect.

“We as football lovers should be happy and grateful to have been there as CR7 and Messi shaped an era together.”

The final was billed as Messi v Kylian Mbappe and the Paris Saint-Germain stars delivered under the pressure, scoring five of the six goals, plus putting their spot-kicks into the back of the net.

Two goals from Mbappe in two minutes saw France draw level which Badstuber could not praise highly enough.

“Mbappe, what an incredible player he is,” he explained. “It will be no consolation to him that, unlike Messi, the future belongs to him.

“To become top scorer at 23 years old, to score a hat-trick in the World Cup final – that’s incredible. Actually, the present already belongs to him too.

“Messi and Mbappe lived up to their reputation as superstars at this tournament and even overperformed, which is another thing that makes their efforts so special.”