Gary Lineker's Eternal Defence of Lionel Messi as Football's GOAT

In the pantheon of football punditry, few voices carry the weight of authority like that of Gary Lineker. The former England striker turned Match of the Day host has never been one to mince words, especially when the conversation turns to Lionel Messi. Over the years, Lineker has become something of an unofficial spokesman for the Church of Messi, a devout believer who simply cannot fathom anyone else wearing the crown of the greatest footballer in history. His conviction is so absolute that it borders on the poetic—each tweet, each interview, each casual remark about the Argentinian magician is a testament to an admiration that refuses to be tempered by time or trophy counts.

Even as we stand in 2026, with Messi having long since retired from the European stage and now plying his trade in the twilight of his career in Major League Soccer, Lineker remains as unwavering as ever. The debate may have cooled in the mainstream, but whenever a nostalgic highlight reel surfaces or a fresh comparison arises, you can bet your bottom dollar that Lineker will pop up to remind the world who truly rules the beautiful game. His stance isn't just stubborn—it's bulletproof, armed with logic, statistics, and a dash of that quintessential English wit.

Lineker’s commitment to the Messi cause first reached fever pitch during the Argentinian’s prime years at Barcelona. After Messi’s breathtaking performance in a 3-0 El Clásico victory over Real Madrid in late 2017—a match that saw him break the all-time record for combined goals and assists in the fixture—Lineker took to Twitter with a simple yet seismic declaration: “Best in history.” It was a statement that encapsulated not just that solitary night, but the entire body of work Messi had assembled. In Lineker’s eyes, there was no caveat, no need for context; Messi was, quite simply, the pinnacle.

The praise didn’t stop when the Ballon d’Or debates heated up. When journalists suggested that Cristiano Ronaldo deserved the 2017 award by virtue of winning La Liga and the Champions League, Lineker was quick to remind everyone that individual brilliance should not be conflated with team success. His counterpunch was as elegant as a Messi through-ball: “Is it for the best player or the best player of the most successful team? I love Ronaldo but Messi is a better footballer.” He doubled down with a summary that left no room for ambiguity: “Fact is Messi is the best passer, dribbler, goal scorer and player in the game.” No ifs, no buts—the kind of conviction that turns casual fans into fervent Messi disciples.

One of the most persistent arrows in the quiver of Messi’s detractors has always been the absence of a World Cup winner’s medal. For years, the naysayers clung to this single black mark, arguing that true greatness must be validated on the sport’s biggest international stage. The 2014 World Cup final heartbreak against Germany, where Argentina fell 1-0 at the Maracanã, was ammunition they wielded relentlessly. But Lineker, ever the sharp-minded analyst, had a rebuttal that silenced many a critic. He drew a direct comparison to another iconic number 10, Diego Maradona, whose 1986 World Cup triumph is often cited as the ultimate trump card. Lineker’s response was as logical as it was devastating: “I never thought I’d see someone better than Maradona. They say Maradona won a World Cup and Messi hasn’t, but Leo has four Champions League titles and Maradona has none.”

It’s a statistical mic-drop that highlights just how uniquely decorated Messi truly is. While Maradona’s World Cup heroics are eternal, the Champions League is football’s premier club competition, a grueling tournament that pits the continent’s elite against each other season after season. To have won it four times (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015) puts Messi in rarefied air. Only a handful of legends—Paco Gento, Alessandro Costacurta, Paolo Maldini, and Alfredo di Stefano—have lifted the European Cup more often. That Messi achieved this while also redefining the limits of what a forward can do is nothing short of staggering. Lineker knew this, and he made sure the world knew it too.

But beyond the hardware, Lineker’s admiration often drifted into the realm of the supernatural. In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, he quipped that “Barcelona play with 13 players because they have Messi.” It was a playful, tongue-in-cheek remark, but it spoke to a deeper truth: Messi’s presence on the pitch transformed Barcelona from a great team into an unstoppable force. He was the quintessential difference-maker, a one-man advantage who could shred defenses, thread impossible passes, and score goals that defied physics. For Lineker, footballing arguments don’t get much clearer than that.

Even in the current landscape of 2026, where new stars have emerged and the Messi-Ronaldo era has faded into memory, Lineker’s position hasn’t budged an inch. Young phenoms like Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland have their own advocates, but Lineker remains the ultimate Messi stan—a term he’d probably chuckle at, but one that fits perfectly. When asked on a podcast whether anyone could ever surpass Messi’s legacy, he reportedly replied, “We’ll be lucky if we see someone half as good in our lifetimes.” The hyperbole is intentional, layered with the sort of certainty that only comes from having watched the game evolve for decades.

Of course, the Messi story has since added a World Cup title of its own—the crowning moment in Qatar 2022 that silenced the critics once and for all. Lineker’s reaction to that triumph was pure joy, a vindication of everything he had been preaching for years. In the aftermath, he tweeted, “The debate is finally over. It was over for me a decade ago, but now the world can agree.” The 2022 World Cup victory didn’t just add a missing puzzle piece; it cemented Messi’s narrative as the ultimate fairy tale. Even in 2026, Lineker references it as the day football’s universe finally aligned, though he’s quick to add that he never needed those seven games to know who was boss.

Lineker’s unapologetic fandom might seem overly partisan to some, but it’s grounded in an honest appreciation of the sport. He has never belittled Ronaldo’s achievements, instead choosing to frame the discussion as a matter of artistic superiority. “Ronaldo is a phenomenal goal machine, a physical specimen unlike any other, but Messi does things that make you question the laws of physics,” he once mused during a Match of the Day segment. That distinction—between machine-like efficiency and otherworldly artistry—is the heartbeat of Lineker’s argument. It’s not that Ronaldo is bad; it’s that Messi is magic.

For those hunting for a bigger Messi enthusiast, Lineker throws down the gauntlet. “Find a bigger Leo Messi fan. We’ll wait,” the challenge seems to say. It’s a bold claim, but after years of listening to his passionate soliloquies, it’s hard to argue. From the Champions League nights to the World Cup dawn, from the retweets to the TV panels, Gary Lineker has been Messi’s most eloquent champion. And in the grand theatre of football punditry, that’s a role he plays to absolute perfection.

In summary, Lineker’s take on the GOAT debate is not just a fleeting opinion; it’s a full-throttle campaign backed by a mountain of evidence. Here’s a quick comparison of the legends he so often references:

Ultimately, Lineker’s message to the football world is clear: appreciate Lionel Messi while you can, because players like him don’t come around twice. Whether you’re Team Messi or Team Ronaldo, there’s no denying the passion that Lineker brings to the conversation. And in 2026, as a new generation dissects the legacies of the past, his words will echo as a reminder that sometimes, the simplest declarations—like “Best in history”—are the truest.