Lionel Messi becomes World Cup all-time leading goalscorer – how has he stayed at the top?
His days of delivering tournament-defining performances at the World Cup might have been over when Messi, then 31, and Argentina were knocked out by France in a classic seven-goal clash in Russia in 2018.
But four years later, he scored seven goals to lead his country to the cup in Qatar, and after scoring four more, he became the first player to score in six consecutive World Cup matches.
Olivier Giroud was part of the France team that won the 2018 season and he was also playing in Ligue 1 at the age of 39. Olivier Giroud, who can understand Messi’s situation, believes that it is more important for a player to compete with him than to think about the younger generation.
“It’s clear how passionate Messi still is about football and you can tell it’s in his DNA to always be competitive and to outdo himself than anyone else,” Giroud says.
“When you’re playing at a high level in our day and age, you have to be very careful about your living hygiene, how you sleep, how you eat, how you take care of your body, because those are the things you rely on to function.
“The important thing is to still have the desire, motivation and passion to continue.”
Messi isn’t the only global sports star to continue to throw gloves at younger rivals well into his late 30s; Tennis player Novak Djokovic is perhaps the most impressive example of recent years.
But doing so requires a combination of a relentless commitment to physical fitness and unfailing self-belief.
“Players know themselves inside and out at that age, so there’s not much left to teach them about how to manage as they get older,” says Michael Caulfield, a sports psychologist who has worked in professional football for more than 20 years.
“From a physical perspective, they benefit from every advance in sports science.
“But mentally it’s about whether they’re capable of dealing with the day-to-day challenges. They have to be willing to spend all year working hard on the same things, and if you’ve been doing this for 25 years, that takes a lot of self-discipline.”
“They need to maintain pure willpower to go through the rehabilitation process after injuries, even though they know they have already won everything.
“The best athletes I have ever met are all willing to try to come back one more time because they love doing what they do.
“That’s why you still see Bruce Springsteen or Madonna on tour; it’s all about who these stars are.”
