Glushenkov: Messi Is the Best Player in History

Maksim Glushenkov has called Lionel Messi the best player the game has produced, pointing to Messi's return at this year's World Cup as the proof.

"Yes, of course. A man of almost 40 scores seven goals at a World Cup. What is there even to discuss?" the Zenit midfielder told Match TV, in remarks cited by Euro-Football.ru.

Glushenkov, 27, said he picked up Argentina's run from the last-16 tie against Egypt, when they beat Egypt 2:1, and followed them through to the final. He admitted the kick-off times at open stadiums puzzled him: matches played at local midday, in heat pushing 40 degrees.

He was not downcast when Argentina lost the final to France. "It was clear they weren't going to beat the French. Look at how they play. Those are people from another planet. 90% of the ball, the whole match," he said, adding that France are the strongest side he has watched.

Glushenkov himself has scored nine times since joining Zenit in February. Messi, 35, is in the running for the 2026 Ballon d'Or on the strength of his World Cup form, an award he has already won a record eight times. He arrives at that vote in form for Inter Miami too: his free kick against San Diego on 21 September was his 930th career goal and his third straight match on the scoresheet, and it also moved him to second on the all-time free-kick list, three behind the record holder, Marcelinho Carioca, on 78.

An endorsement of this kind from a rival top-flight midfielder adds to the weight behind Messi's Ballon d'Or case, though the vote itself remains open.