Gianni Infantino believes there should be "way more" football as he defended FIFA's expansion of the World Cup and new Club World Cup proposal.

Infantino was re-elected as FIFA president at the FIFA Congress on Thursday after running unopposed.

FIFA confirmed earlier this week that the 2026 World Cup will consist of 48 teams, up from 32, split into 12 groups of four, while plans were also confirmed for an expanded Club World Cup containing 32 teams.

Speaking at the Congress in Rwanda, Infantino said: "When I hear there is too much football, yes, maybe in some places, but not everywhere. In fact, in most parts of the world there is not enough football played.

"We need way more and not less competitions, we want football to develop worldwide.

"We are discussing organising a women's Club World Cup and a FIFA World Series in March every two years, when teams are free from playing qualifiers."

He also later pointed to the English football calendar as well as the Super Cup tournaments in Italian and Spanish football, believing that there is less criticism of others from the media than there is of FIFA, which was a theme of the president's closing remarks.

Infantino also addressed previous controversial comments he believed had been falsely reported, including at the World Cup where he accused reporters of racism for criticising the host country of Qatar.

"I think I called racists those who were qualifying fans who had different skin colour of fans who were cheering European teams as not real fans, that's when I used the word 'racist', and I stick to that," he said.

He had also appeared to compare his refusal to give up on becoming FIFA president with Rwandan genocide in his opening remarks on Thursday, but was quick to quash this suggestion when it was put to him by The Athletic's Matt Slater at the closing press conference.

"I find it really incredible that you can interpret what I say as making an association with one of the most terrible tragedies that happened with anything that happened in my life," he said.

"I would never make a comparison with a tragedy and my life. What I want to say is that this country is so inspiring for so many people that when we come with our little problems, we should just be a bit more humble about things. That's all that I said."

LaLiga has spoken out against FIFA over plans to reshape the structure of the 2026 World Cup into four-team groups.

Football's governing body had originally intended to have 16 groups of three teams after expanding from 32 to 48 nations for the tournament jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

However, following the Qatar 2022 edition, plans to maintain the current four-team system resurfaced and have now been rubber-stamped at FIFA's annual congress.

The decision has enraged LaLiga however, with the competition set to expand to 104 games from 64.

LaLiga has also objected to plans for a new international club tournament, which will join an expanded Club World Cup on the football calendar. The latter is due to take place every four years starting from 2025, but an as-yet-unnamed additional event is set to take place annually alongside it.

"Following the announcements made today at the 73rd FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, LaLiga states that FIFA continues its malpractice of making unilateral decisions on the world football calendar," read a statement.

"[FIFA is] showing complete disregard for the importance of national championships, and the football community in general. FIFA completely neglects the economic damage these decisions inflict on leagues around the world.

"Leagues were not consulted about any of the changes presented, especially about the new annual club competition, of which we were completely unaware, and which seriously affects our competitions.

"These decisions do not take into account the competitive, sporting and economic impact on national leagues, clubs and players, by further cramming an already overloaded schedule.

"LaLiga and other leagues represented in the World Leagues Forum will analyse FIFA's decisions and decide on the most appropriate next steps."

Under the three-team World Cup group structure, all nations would have played two games before the top pair from each group would have proceeded to a round-of-32.

Now however, the eight best-ranked third-place sides from 12 groups will also be included in the mix, with the revised format ensuring every side plays at least three games.

It also means those who reach the final will play eight games, including the showpiece match itself, one more than teams who reach the end of the tournament currently partake in.

The 2026 World Cup will maintain the four-team group stage format rather than change to three, FIFA has confirmed.

With the next iteration of the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada seeing the number of competing teams increase from 32 to 48, the intention had been to have 16 groups of three teams.

However, it is believed the exciting nature of the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar prompted a rethink, and it has now been confirmed that the four-team groups will continue, with the top two in each group and the eight best third-place teams going through to the knockout stage.

FIFA said in a statement on its website: "Based on a thorough review that considered sporting integrity, player welfare, team travel, commercial and sporting attractiveness, as well as team and fan experience, the FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed amendment to the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition format from 16 groups of three to 12 groups of four with the top two and eight best third-placed teams progressing to a round of 32.

"The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time between competing teams."

It was also announced at FIFA's council meeting in Rwanda that the next men's World Cup final will take place on Sunday, July 19, 2026 as the men's international calendar from 2025-2030 was confirmed.

Further details will be "published in the coming days", but FIFA was able to confirm some headline information from the calendar, including plans to have a 16-day, four match international window in late September/early October from 2026.

It was also confirmed that the women's international calendar from 2024-2025 will "contain six international windows per year".

Gregg Berhalter remains under consideration for a new contract as United States head coach following an investigation into a 1992 domestic altercation with his wife, U.S. Soccer has confirmed.

Berhalter revealed in January he was the subject of an investigation pertaining to an incident in which he pushed and kicked Rosalind Berhalter, then his girlfriend, in a nightclub when they were both freshmen at the University of North Carolina.

It was subsequently revealed the incident was reported to U.S. Soccer by Giovanni Reyna's mother Danielle, who was angered by Berhalter's treatment of her son at last year's World Cup.

Reyna enjoyed limited playing time at the tournament, after which Berhalter suggested the Borussia Dortmund man was almost exiled from his squad due to poor behaviour in Qatar.

Berhalter's contract with U.S. Soccer expired at the end of December, though he said he was hopeful of returning to the post as a probe into the domestic altercation was announced.

While that investigation has concluded Berhalter did kick his wife, the legal firm that carried it out has advised U.S. Soccer there is no legal impediment to re-employing him.

A statement from U.S. Soccer read: "Upon learning of a serious allegation of past misconduct against then-U.S. Men's National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter, U.S. Soccer immediately engaged a team at Alston & Bird LLP to conduct an independent investigation into the matter. 

"U.S. Soccer takes seriously both allegations of violence and allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards our officials and staff.

"U.S. Soccer's process for determining who will serve as sporting director is ongoing, and interviews are underway. The sporting director will lead the process of determining who will serve as head coach of the Men's National Team. 

"Given the investigators' conclusion that there is no legal impediment to employing him, Gregg Berhalter remains a candidate to serve as head coach.

"The report also identifies a need to revisit U.S. Soccer's policies concerning appropriate parental conduct. We will be updating those policies as we continue to work to ensure safe environments for all participants in our game."

FIFA president Gianni Infantino committed to avoiding conflict over OneLove armbands at the Women's World Cup, promising to "have a position in place well before" the tournament begins.

A number of national teams at the Qatar 2022 men's World Cup, including Denmark, England and Germany, were planning to support the campaign that promotes inclusivity and opposes all discrimination.

Their captains were intending to wear an armband bearing the OneLove logo, but the teams backed down when FIFA threatened sporting sanctions – expected to be a yellow card for the captains.

The decision to host the World Cup in Qatar attracted criticism due to the country's stance on same-sex relationships, as well as the treatment of migrant workers.

Australia and New Zealand will co-host the women's tournament in July and August of this year, and senior figures from both countries have questioned what they believe is FIFA's intention to have the Visit Saudi tourism authority as a tournament sponsor.

Like Qatar, Saudi Arabia's position on rights for women and LGBTQ+ people has also been called into question by human rights groups. Both countries have been accused by critics of 'sportswashing', the attempt to bolster their international reputations by becoming closely involved with sport at the highest level.

Infantino was asked about the OneLove armbands on Saturday, following a meeting of football law-makers the International Football Association Board (IFAB).

He said: "What I can say on this issue is I think we all went through a learning process there [at the Qatar World Cup].

"What we will try to do better this time is to search and look for dialogue with everyone involved – the captains, the federations, the players generally, FIFA – from all over the world to capture the different sensitivities, to explain, to exchange, and to see what can be done in order to express a position, a value or a feeling that somebody has without hurting anyone else.

"In a positive way, we are looking for a dialogue and we will have a position in place well before the Women's World Cup, I hope so."

Human rights group Amnesty International was among the bodies that poured scorn on FIFA's position in Qatar.

Infantino was also asked about FIFA's progress on reviewing its transgender eligibility policy.

The world governing body said last year it was looking again at its rules and receiving help from experts in the matter, which has been a matter of great contention across sport.

It remains to be seen whether players who identify as female but were born male will be allowed to play at the Women's World Cup.

Infantino said: "There is no update yet, but also there we want to be as clear as possible as soon as possible, not to leave it until the end. On all these topics we need to learn our lesson and be a bit faster."

Manchester United teenager Alejandro Garnacho is set to win his first cap for Argentina as the world champions named their squad for their first matches since the Qatar success.

Lionel Scaloni's men beat France 4-2 on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw in the World Cup final in December as Lionel Messi won international football's premier tournament for the first time in his decorated career.

The Paris Saint-Germain star is set to add to his 172 appearances for Argentina after he was named in Scaloni's squad for the friendlies with Panama and Curacao later this month.

But a fellow forward looks likely to play for La Albiceleste for the first time, with Garnacho's excellent form since breaking into the United squad this season earning him a maiden call-up.

The 18-year-old has registered eight goal involvements in 27 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils this term, becoming an important part of their squad as they enjoy a successful first season under Erik ten Hag.

Angel Di Maria is named in the 35-man squad after scoring Argentina's second in the World Cup final, while shoot-out hero Emiliano Martinez also features.

Martinez's Aston Villa team-mate Emiliano Buendia is included while Enzo Fernandez, who joined Chelsea from Benfica in the January window for a British-record £106.8million (€120.6m), retains his place.

Argentina squad: Franco Armani (River Plate), Geronimo Rulli (Ajax), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa); Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Nehuen Perez (Udinese), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla), Lautaro Blanco (Elche); Leandro Paredes (Juventus), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Maximo Perrone (Manchester City), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Facundo Buonanotte (Brighton and Hove Albion), Thiago Almada (Atlanta United), Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton and Hove Albion), Valentin Carboni (Inter); Angel Di Maria (Juventus), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), Paulo Dybala (Roma), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Alejandro Gomez (Sevilla).

Just Fontaine has been hailed as an "eternal goalscorer" whose mark on football "will forever be remembered" following his death at the age of 89.

The French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed on Wednesday that Fontaine had passed away overnight in Toulouse.

A minute's applause will be held in tribute to Fontaine at all French football grounds this week, starting with Wednesday's Coupe de France ties.

In a statement on their official website, the FFF described Fontaine as "the eternal goalscorer" and "a legend of world football".

FFF interim president Philippe Diallo added: "The death of Just Fontaine plunges French football into deep emotion and immense sadness.

"He wrote one of the most beautiful pages in the history of the French team."

Fontaine's greatest achievement came in 1958 when scoring 13 goals in just six matches for France at the World Cup as Les Blues went on to finish third.

That remains the highest number of goals scored in a single edition of the tournament, while his tally of 13 goals overall has been bettered by only three players in history.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: "Just was a footballing icon and his tremendous performance in 1958 cemented his legacy as one of the greatest World Cup players ever.

"Scoring 13 goals in a single World Cup is a record which, to this day, has never been equalled. 

"The mark he left on world football will forever be remembered, and this record will probably never be beaten. My deepest condolences to Just's loved ones at this difficult time."

Fontaine scored 30 goals in 21 appearances for France between 1953 and 1960 in a career that was cut short by injury at the age of 28.

Current France head coach Didier Deschamps said: "The loss of Just Fontaine saddens me, as it will inevitably sadden all those who love football and our national team. 

"'Justo' is and will remain a legend of the France team.

"As a player and then coach, I had the chance to meet him on several occasions.

"In particular at his home, in Toulouse, in September 2017. He was a man of great kindness, very respectful of generations that succeeded his with Les Bleus. 

"His attachment to the France team was strong and sincere."

At club level, Fontaine won the Coupe de France and Ligue 1 with Nice before joining Reims.

He won three more league titles with Reims, the Coupe de France and was twice victorious in the Trophee des Champions, while also reaching the 1958-59 European Cup final.

"A star of French football, an outstanding striker, a legendary Reims player," his former club said in a statement.

Fontaine scored 164 goals in 200 Ligue 1 matches.

He reached the 100-goal mark in the competition by the age of 24 years and eight months, which only Herve Revelli (23y 5m) and Kylian Mbappe (22y 3m) have bettered.

Fontaine later moved into coaching and took charge of Paris Saint-Germain, Toulouse and the Morocco national side.

During his time with PSG, he guided the club to their only promotion to Ligue 1 – they have not been relegated since.

"A thought for Just Fontaine. An icon of French football who has left us," PSG tweeted.

French football icon Just Fontaine has died at the age of 89.

The forward holds the record for the most goals scored in a single edition of a World Cup, hitting a haul of 13 in just six matches of the 1958 tournament as France reached the semi-finals for the first time.

Fontaine's flurry of goals included a hat-trick in his tournament debut against Paraguay and four in the third-place play-off win against West Germany, which ensured he had scored in every game.

Despite just featuring at one World Cup, only three players have scored more in the competition – Gerd Muller (14), Brazil great Ronaldo (15) and Miroslav Klose (16). Lionel Messi tied Fontaine's tally of 13 in Qatar in his fifth participation.

Forced to retire at the age of 28 due to injury, Fontaine's international record stands at 30 goals from 21 caps.

At club level, Fontaine won the Coupe de France and Ligue 1 with Nice before joining Reims, where he won a further three league titles, the Coupe de France and was twice victorious in the Trophee des Champions.

The striker was also part of the side that reached the European Cup final in 1958-59, losing to Real Madrid.

He later moved into management and took charge of Paris Saint-Germain, Tolouse and the Morocco national side.

PSG were among the clubs to send their condolences to Fontaine following confirmation of his passing on Wednesday.

Zlatko Dalic accused FIFA of showing "a lack of respect" for Croatia's World Cup heroes and revealed he refused to vote in the world body's The Best awards.

Croatia playmaker Luka Modric was a nominee in the men's player category, but Dalic did not make the five-man list for coach of the year.

In a fiery blast to Gianni Infantino's FIFA, Dalic argued Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol and Dominic Livakovic deserved recognition, suggesting all would have been in the frame for nominations if they belonged to a more fashionable footballing nation.

Dalic's team beat Brazil in the Qatar 2022 quarter-finals before falling to Argentina in the semi-finals. They then rebounded to beat Morocco in the third-place play-off, following their runner-up finish at the 2018 World Cup.

Scornful of Croatian players being left off voting lists, Dalic said: "If English, Brazilian, Spanish, German or Italian players and coaches had the kind of results that we do, they'd be on the shortlist for every possible football award.

"I want more respect for us, for our national team, for our players, and for myself, because with two medals, we more than deserve it. FIFA should promote the fact that a tiny country such as Croatia can play against the biggest nations in the world because that's the most beautiful message for the whole football world."

In a contemptuous statement issued through the Croatian FA, Dalic said: "I am disappointed with FIFA's attitude towards the Croatian national team because I strongly maintain that, based on everything we've achieved as a national team, we deserve more respect from the head governing body of world football than we have received.

"We are the only national team that was among the top four teams at both the World Cup in Qatar and in the current UEFA Nations League cycle.

"We made the front pages worldwide by winning a match against the world's greatest team Brazil, and along with France, we are the only team to have won two medals at the two most recent World Cups.

"This year, we beat France in Paris and Denmark in Copenhagen, we took Brazil and Belgium out of the World Cup. In the 23 matches we've played since Euro 2020, we've only lost twice. And yet even after all of that, look at the list of the 14 candidates for The Best FIFA Men's player – aside from the great Luka Modric, where are other Croatian players?"

He asked: "Was there really no place for Mateo Kovacic on that list, even though he's won the FIFA Club World Cup and played a brilliant World Cup in Qatar? Where is Josko Gvardiol's name? After all, he was listed among the Top 11 for both the World Cup and for the Bundesliga by most sources. And did Dominik Livakovic not deserve to be one of the five finalists for the Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper after everything he did in Qatar?"

Contenders for the coach award were Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti, France boss Didier Deschamps, Pep Guardiola of Manchester City, Morocco's Walid Regragui and Lionel Scaloni, whose Argentina won the World Cup. Scaloni took the honour.

Dalic said: "With all due respect for Morocco's head coach and their success at the World Cup, in the two matches we played against them, we tied once and Croatia won the bronze medal the second time."

The 56-year-old Dalic claimed this was not the first instance of feeling a lack of recognition.

He said: "I feel that we have not been extended the respect we deserve, and both the time slots of our matches at the World Cup and the quality of refereeing – especially at the semi-final match – made me feel that there was a lack of respect towards the Croatian team. I fully believe that our national team's performance on the pitch and conduct off of it has made us deserving of the very same respect that we show our opponents at every match."

Kylian Mbappe congratulated Lionel Messi after his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate beat him to the FIFA Best Men's Player award.

Superstar Messi earned the prestigious individual accolade for the second time in his career, with the announcement made at Monday's ceremony in Paris.

The award spanned from the start of the 2021-22 season through to the end of the World Cup in Qatar, where Messi captained Argentina to victory over Mbappe's France in a memorable final in December.

Messi scored seven goals and provided three assists at the tournament to scoop the Golden Ball prize, while Mbappe also had 10 goal involvements and finished as top scorer.

Additionally, Messi scored 11 goals and claimed three assists from 18 games for PSG at the start of this campaign.

Mbappe was second in the voting ahead of Real Madrid star Karim Benzema.

Posting on Instagram after the ceremony, Mbappe wrote: "Another trophy at home. Big congratulations to @leomessi you are #TheBest."

Messi and Mbappe combined for all three goals as PSG defeated Marseille 3-0 in Ligue 1 last time out. The duo now have 10 goal combinations this season, the most in Europe's top-five leagues.

PSG, who are eight points clear at the top of Ligue 1, host Nantes next before travelling to Bayern Munich for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie where they are aiming to overturn a 1-0 deficit.

Lionel Messi thanked his Argentina team-mates for a "dream" year after winning the Best FIFA Men's Player award for a second time.

The Paris Saint-Germain superstar pipped club-mate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema to the top accolade at Monday's ceremony in Paris.

Messi played a starring role in Argentina's 2022 World Cup triumph, finishing as Golden Ball winner after scoring seven goals and assisting three more.

He also impressed at club level in the first half of the 2022-23 season, which was taken into account in the voting, after scoring 11 goals and assisting 14 more in 18 games.

That equalled the 35-year-old's tally in both categories across 34 matches in his maiden campaign at the Parc des Princes. 

Upon collecting his Best FIFA award, which he previously won in 2019, Messi said: "Wow, this is amazing. It's been a tremendous year and it's an honour to win this award.

"Without my team-mates, I wouldn't be here. I achieved the dream I had been hoping for so long. Very few people can achieve that and I have been lucky to do so.

"It's the most wonderful thing that's happened to me in my career."

Messi joins Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski as two-time winners of the trophy, with Luka Modric the only other winner since the award was first handed out in 2016.

Lionel Scaloni was crowned the Best FIFA Men's Coach, meanwhile, and Emiliano Martinez ensured it was a clean sweep for Argentina by taking the Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper award.

In the women's prizes, Sarina Wiegman took the Best FIFA Women's Coach award for a third time and Alexia Putellas pipped Beth Mead to the Best FIFA Women's Player accolade.

England and Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps was named the Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper.

Lionel Messi, Lionel Scaloni and Emiliano Martinez made it a clean sweep for Argentina in Monday's glitzy ceremony for the Best FIFA Awards in Paris.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Messi was crowned the Best FIFA Men's Player, Scaloni took the the Best FIFA Men's Coach and Martinez the Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper.

The award period spans between the start of the 2021-22 season through to the end of the 2022 World Cup, which saw Argentina end their 36-year wait to win the competition.

Martinez, who plies his club trade for Aston Villa, finished ahead of Thibaut Courtois and Yassine Bounou of Real Madrid and Sevilla respectively in the voting – although Courtois made the cut for the FIFPro Men's World 11.

Scaloni was next to pick up an award after seeing off competition from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who won a LaLiga and Champions League double last season.

La Albiceleste have lost just one of their 23 games since the start of last season, with their solitary loss coming in their opening Qatar 2022 group game against Saudi Arabia.

Messi made it three from three for Argentina by claiming the top prize at the ceremony in the French capital, which started with a poignant tribute to Brazil great Pele.

Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Messi's PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe had also been in the running for the award.

Argentina's fans also claimed the FIFA Fan Award.

Their domination on the men's side was not quite matched by European champions England in the women's prizes.

While Argentina dominated the men's side of the voting, it was a clean sweep for England in the women's side of things.

Mary Earps was named the Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper and Sarina Wiegman took the Best FIFA Women's Coach award for a third time.

But Beth Mead was pipped to the Best FIFA Women's Player accolade by Alexia Putellas, last year's winner.

Other winners included Luka Lochoshvili, then of Austrian side Wolfsberger, in the FIFA Fair Play Award category for potentially saving the life of opponent Georg Teigl during a game after the Austria Vienna player fell unconscious mid-match.

Polish amputee footballer Marcin Oleksy won the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal for his perfectly executed bicycle kick for Warta Poznan against Stal Rzeszow.

Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina forward Lionel Messi has won the Best FIFA Men's Player award for a second time.

Messi saw off competition from club-mate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid's Karim Benzema to collect the award at Monday's ceremony in Paris.

The award spans the period between the start of the 2021-22 season through to the end of the World Cup, which saw Messi end Argentina's 36-year wait to win the competition.

Former Barcelona superstar Messi claimed the Golden Ball award in Qatar – given to the best player of the tournament – after scoring seven goals and assisting three more.

Those 10 direct goal involvements were matched by Mbappe, who finished as top scorer, but that was not enough to see the France forward win his first Best FIFA award.

Messi made a slow start to life at PSG by his own personal high standards, scoring 11 goals and assisting 14 in 34 games in his maiden campaign at the Parc des Princes.

However, the 35-year-old – who has also won a record seven Ballons d'Or – matched those figures in his first 18 games this season ahead of the World Cup.

Messi, who previously won the Best FIFA award in 2019, joins Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski as two-time winners, having also finished as a runner-up three times.

Lionel Messi has been named the Best FIFA Men's Player.

The Paris Saint-Germain superstar and Barcelona great won the award for the second time, beating club-mate Kylian Mbappe and last year's Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema to the prize.

With the award spanning the time between August 8, 2021 and December 18 last year – from the start of last season to the end of the World Cup – Messi's success in Qatar ultimately gave him the edge.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform looks at Messi's crowning year.

Starting slow in Paris

It has not all been rosy for Messi over the course of the last 18 months. 

Barca's inability to renew his contract led to Messi swapping Camp Nou for the Parc des Princes and forming a mouth-watering front trio with Mbappe and Neymar.

Yet it took some time for him to click into gear in France.

Messi finished the 2021-22 Ligue 1 season with six goals, his lowest tally in a league campaign since his breakthrough at Barcelona in the 2005-06 season.

He underperformed his expected goals total of 10.1 by just over four, suggesting he was not finishing chances he would have been expected to, while he only netted once in his first 12 Ligue 1 matches. He was also slightly unfortunate, hitting the woodwork on 11 occasions.

Yet Messi did create – he tallied 14 assists in Ligue 1 alone, creating 63 chances. Having Mbappe and Neymar alongside him no doubt helped (his xA was 9.0), but he ultimately finished with 20 goal contributions in France's top tier.

Messi had more luck in the Champions League, scoring five goals in seven appearances, slightly outperforming his non-penalty xG (three goals from 2.4 npxG).

Back at his best

Any teething issues Messi experienced last season have been swiftly forgotten this term.

Indeed, in the run-up to the World Cup, Messi had already contributed to 25 goals (11 goals, 14 assists) in 18 appearances for PSG across all competitions.

None of Messi's goals came from the penalty spot, topping his npxG of 9.5.

Heading to Qatar, Messi had contributed to more PSG goals than either Mbappe or Neymar (24 each) in fewer matches.

Messi's shot conversion rate (14.9 per cent) was lower than Mbappe's 23.5 and Neymar's 27.1, but he had completed more dribbles (55) and created chances with a greater combined xA (8.6) than either.

It took time, but the signs were scary for Argentina's opponents heading into the World Cup, and it's that tournament that has inevitably given him the edge for these awards.

On top of the world... at last

The one criticism that could have been levelled at Messi previously was that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner had not managed to transfer his form to the international stage.

After winning the Copa America in 2021, Messi ended that argument in emphatic fashion in Qatar, channelling his inner Diego Maradona as, like the great man in 1986, he dragged Argentina to glory at a World Cup.

The 35-year-old scored seven goals, including two in the final, and provided three assists to claim the Golden Ball award, although of course it is the main prize that will matter the most to him.

Messi became the first player to net in the group stage, the last 16, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final – albeit Jairzinho scored in every game Brazil played in 1970 before the introduction of the round of 16.

Messi and Jairzinho are two of five players in World Cup history to have found the net in six separate games at one finals, with the other three (Just Fontaine, Salvatore Schillaci and Davor Suker) boosting their numbers in the third-place play-off.

He also matched Schillaci in scoring the first goal in five different matches.

Messi topped the charts for shots attempted (32), chances created from open play (17) and fouls won (22).

Lionel Scaloni is set to lead Argentina into the 2026 World Cup after signing a new deal with La Albiceleste.

Scaloni, with more than a helping hand from Lionel Messi, guided Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last year.

It was Argentina's third world title but their first since 1986, when Diego Maradona starred in Mexico.

Messi, with seven goals and three assists, was the driving force in 2022, as Scaloni scooped his second prize as Argentina coach, after winning the Copa America in 2021.

Scaloni's contract had expired, but he always outlined his intention to stay on and news of his new deal was confirmed on Monday.

It means Scaloni is set to take charge of Argentina at next year's Copa America and at the next World Cup.

The United States will stage both the Copa America and the 2026 World Cup, though Mexico and Canada are also co-hosts for the latter tournament.

Scaloni, who counted Newell's Old Boys, West Ham, Lazio and Atalanta among his clubs across a 20-year playing career, took charge of Argentina in 2018 following a stint as the nation's under-20 coach.

He has been nominated for the FIFA Best Men's Coach for 2022, alongside Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.