Stan Collymore explains why Diego Maradona will remain the GOAT even if Lionel Messi wins 2022 FIFA World Cup

Lionel Messi will not achieve the GOAT title over his mentor the late Diego Maradona even if he wins the World Cup, according to former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore. He believes that Maradona would still hold the achievement as he played in a time when the game was more physical and violent.

Speaking as a pundit for Mirror Sport, Collymore said:

“If Messi wins the World Cup this afternoon then people will say he’s the greatest of all time and I understand how his CV would back that up. A World Cup winners’ medal is the one trophy missing from his cabinet and that’s the one a lot of people point to as setting Maradona aside when they’re debating the best there has been."

He added:

“But I still go back to the point that the rule changes of the last decade and more have allowed Messi to thrive in a way Maradona never got to and, for that reason, Maradona will remain the greatest for me."

Collymore claimed that the Paris Saint-Germain forward hasn't had to face physical defenders like Andoni Goikoetxea, who Maradona faced. He said:

"He certainly hasn’t had to come up against anyone remotely resembling Andoni Goikoetxea, the Butcher of Bilbao, who was initially handed an 18-game ban for the ankle-breaking, ligament-shattering tackle he landed on Maradona that put him out of the game for a year."

He added:

"You have to wonder, then, whether Messi would have come back from some of the injuries Maradona did and performed at such a level if he had. Maradona had the resilience to overcome it and that’s why he still has the edge on his compatriot.”

Argentina will face France on Sunday (December 18) in the World Cup final, a match that serves to be a career-defining one in the PSG man's career.

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"Messi can play till he's 50," says Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez

Emiliano Martinez praised his teammate's physical attributes and said he could play 'till he's 50'.

Messi announced that the upcoming final would be his last World Cup game. However, Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has hinted at a possible return of his captain for the 2026 World Cup, saying he can play 'till he's 50'. He told Footballers Lives:

"For me, he can play until he is 50. He looks really sharp and he looks so good. He makes things look easy – it’s the hardest thing to do."

The PSG winger will be 39 by the time the next World Cup rolls around in 2026, to be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. It remains to be seen if Messi will be able to carry his unique physical and technical traits that late into his career.