Messi chases Golden Boot.. Reports favor him winning Best Player award

Khalid Daghriri

Sunday, July 19, 2026 15:53 | 2 minutes read

Messi during Argentina training. (AFP)

Argentine Lionel Messi enters the 2026 World Cup final against Spain competing with Frenchman Kylian Mbappé for the Golden Boot award, after the latter raised his tally to 10 goals, compared to 8 goals for the Argentina captain.

Messi needs to score 3 goals to snatch the Golden Boot, while scoring 2 goals would tie him with Mbappé, with the ranking to be decided according to FIFA criteria.

Minutes advantage

Both players are equal in number of assists with 4 each. In case of a tie in goals, the advantage goes to the player who has played fewer minutes. Mbappé has played 769 minutes, compared to Messi's 712 minutes, not counting the final match.

Market value gap

Messi's market value is 15 million euros, while Mbappé's value reaches 180 million euros, according to data from Transfermarkt, despite the ongoing competition between them for the top individual awards in the tournament.

Historic ongoing race

The competition between the two stars is not limited to the Golden Boot of the 2026 edition, but extends to the top of the all-time World Cup scorers list, with Mbappé leading the list with 22 goals, one goal ahead of Messi who has 21 goals, while German Miroslav Klose is third with 16 goals, and Brazilian Ronaldo fourth with 15 goals.

And awaiting the official announcement after the final match, media reports indicated that FIFA's technical committee has settled on awarding Lionel Messi the Best Player award of the 2026 World Cup, regardless of the match result.

According to The Touchline website, the selection came after Messi's exceptional performance in the tournament, as he scored eight goals and provided four assists in seven matches, continuing to affirm his status as one of the most prominent stars in World Cup history.

Definitions