Players with most FIFA World Cup titles: Where does Lionel Messi rank in all-time list?

Lionel Messi featured in his third FIFA World Cup Final for Argentina but lost 0-1 as Spain clinched the title at the New Jersey Stadium on Sunday.

He first made it this far in the tourament in 2014 when Argentina went down 0-1 to Germany after extra-time. His second outing in 2022 was more memorable as he scored two goals to lead Argentina to a victory over France.

After the title decider in 2026, Messi has 20 goals and nine assists in FIFA World Cups. He leads the assists charts and sits just one goal behind Kylian Mbappe in the list of leading goalscorers.

However, he is still quite a long way off in terms of being the most decorated player in the World Cup history. Brazil legend Pele leads the list, having won the title three times: 1958, 1962 and 1970. He is the only player with three World Cup titles.

After Pele, there are 18 players, who have won the World Cup twice in their careers. This includes players from Brazil, who won the World Cup in 1958 and 1962. Ronaldo and Cafu are also in the list for winning the title in 1994 and 2002.

Only one Argentina player has won two FIFA World Cup titles — Daniel Passarella, who won it in 1978 and 1986.

Published on Jul 19, 2026