Former Argentina striker Gabriel Batistuta has said he has no problem with Lionel Messi overtaking him as the country’s top scorer at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Messi became the country’s highest goal scorer at the World Cup after netting in the 3-0 semi-final win against Croatia.
“Messi breaking the record] didn’t hurt me at all because I enjoyed it while I had it,” Batistuta, 53, said in an interview with Argentine newspaper Clarin published on Friday.
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“Leo deserves this. If there’s one person who has to be up there, it’s him.
“Messi is not an alien, he is a human being who plays better football than anyone else. When that person exceeds you, you can’t suffer, he just gives you pleasure.”
Batistuta, who scored 10 goals in three World Cup editions between 1994 and 2002, added that Messi has exceeded his expectations at the tournament in Qatar with his five goals, three assists and brilliant all-round play.
“I expected him to be much calmer, but he is playing like a 20-year-old,” he said. “And that’s because he’s hungry, he’s here to win the Cup. That’s what football needs, that’s what Leo is spreading to the whole team.”
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