Miroslav Klose’s Opinion on Lionel Messi Breaking World Cup Record

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Legendary German striker Miroslav Klose sent a message to Lionel Messi just days before the Argentine superstar broke his all-time World Cup goalscoring record in Dallas on Monday evening.

Prior to the start of the 2026 tournament, Klose was three goals clear of Messi in the all-time scoring stakes at the tournament, with 16 World Cup goals to his name. However, it took Messi just a single game to draw level with the former Lazio and Bayern Munich man, as he notched a hat-trick in Argentina's opening Group J game with Algeria.

It didn't take Messi long to put himself out in front of Klose, either, even though he missed a penalty in the early stages against Austria. A spot-kick, though, would have been too ordinary of a way for the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner to bring up the record.

Instead, the 38-year-old made history with a perfectly taken left-footed finish in the latter stages of the first half, leaving Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager with absolutely no chance.

Inevitably, Messi was mobbed by his teammates after scoring his 17th career World Cup goal, surpassing Klose's 16-goal haul. The German had held the record since the 2014 tournament, when he took the record from Ronaldo Nazario.

Speaking to German publication Suddeutsche Zeitung earlier this month, Klose insisted that he was at ease with his record being broken. Mentioning the expanded 48-team format in 2026, the 48-year-old stated:

"With more teams, there are more matches, and therefore more opportunities to score goals. And I expect Argentina and France to go far."

Reflecting on the inevitability that Messi would catch him, Klose reasoned:

That's perfectly fine, the record will be broken eventually anyway. Messi is welcome to do it. I'm a huge Messi fan, always have been. Messi is a genius.

"I also have a lot of respect for the Argentinian coach [Lionel] Scaloni. I played with him at Lazio, and he showed me around the city a bit back then. We're good friends."

In typical Messi fashion, he wasn't content with simply breaking the record. He added a second goal in the final 10 minutes to make it 2-0 to Argentina and extend his lead at the top of the all-time scorers list.

The Inter Miami man might need the buffer too, with France's Kylian Mbappe currently sat on 14 World Cup goals. With the Real Madrid man only four goals adift, Messi's reign at the head of the pack may struggle to match the 12 years that Klose enjoyed.

Lionel Messi broke Miroslav Klose's World Cup scoring record against Austria, but the goal 'shouldn't have stood'.