Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, both World Cup winners, are chasing one of the sport’s most prestigious records at the 2026 tournament, the all-time scoring lead at the World Cup. The article notes that the competition is not only about trophies and new records, but also about the race for the top spot in the tournament’s historic goals table.
The current record belongs to Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who finished the 2014 World Cup with 16 goals. Behind him are Brazil’s Ronaldo with 15, Germany’s Gerd Muller with 14, and France’s Just Fontaine and Messi tied on 13. Mbappe is tied with Pele on 12 goals. That means Messi is already in fourth place, one goal behind Muller and two behind Ronaldo.
Mbappe has an edge because this is his third World Cup and, at 28, he is likely to appear again. Messi, 39, is playing in his sixth World Cup, a record, and this is likely his last. The article says it is rare to have two players in the same tournament pursuing the all-time World Cup scoring title at the same time.
Since 1958, when Fontaine led the chart, only three players have taken the lead in almost 70 years, Muller in 1974, Ronaldo in 2006 and Klose in 2014. Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar are the active players closest to the leaders, with eight goals each, and would need at least two more goals in the tournament to move into the all-time top 10 to 15.
