From the young boy who began his professional soccer career with FC Barcelona at the age of 17 to the man who helped lead his country to its first World Cup title since 1986 in 2022, Lionel Messi has had quite a journey. And keep in mind, Argentina’s last World Cup title came before he was even born. Now, fast-forward to this year, with rumors swirling that this could be his final World Cup, Patrick Mahomes wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to watch him play. And as it turned out, he witnessed history, and may have even settled on a side in the GOAT debate.

After the Argentina captain scored in the 17th, 60th, and 76th minutes to complete his hat-trick at the Kansas City Stadium, the Chiefs quarterback took to X to let the world know what he thought of Messi, and a few others might agree with the three GOAT emojis he used.

With this, he is now the oldest player in men’s World Cup history to record a hat-trick at 38 years and 357 days old. And what better time for it to come, as not only was it Argentina’s opening game of the World Cup, which they won against Algeria 3-0, but it was also Messi’s 200th appearance for his country.

To top it off, the former Barcelona star became the first player in history to appear in six FIFA World Cups. The milestone adds to a career filled with trophies and record-breaking achievements, most notably leading Argentina to victory at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and winning the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.

And when the praise comes from Mahomes, who knows a thing or two about being a GOAT himself, it counts. Since his debut in the league as a full-time starter in 2018, the 30-year-old has been to five Super Bowls and won three of them. He’s also won two NFL League MVP awards, firmly establishing himself as quite a quarterback.

Incidentally, both stars are signed to the German sports apparel giant Adidas. They, in fact, linked up last summer to shoot an Adidas commercial together.

“In sports, as in anything that you are passionate about, the work never stops,” Mahomes said at the time. “But nobody succeeds alone. You need people who believe in you and who challenge you to be better. It was an honor to team up with Leo for this campaign. It’s a reminder that we achieve more together than we ever could alone.”

Also, they filmed another commercial earlier this year for Dick’s Sporting Goods. Now, this was made possible because Messi currently lives in Miami, playing for Inter Miami in the MLS.

On a larger scale, this was a landmark moment for Kansas City itself, as the city holds an important place in the history of soccer in America. Then there are its ties to the Chiefs as well. Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt was also one of the principal founders and charter members of Major League Soccer.

At one point, Hunt owned three MLS teams, namely the Columbus Crew, Dallas Burn, and Kansas City Wizards, in an effort to help keep the league alive. Hunt also unsuccessfully tried to get Kansas City selected as a host city when the World Cup was last held in the United States in 1994.

With the event finally taking place in Kansas City, the late Lamar Hunt couldn’t have dreamed of a better opening scenario than what the GOAT of soccer displayed. Also, Mahomes and the Chiefs’ link to soccer in Kansas City goes far deeper than one World Cup game.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs organization are heavily involved in US soccer

Beyond what is already a Hall of Fame NFL career, Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, have established themselves as major figures in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) by becoming one of the founding owners of the Kansas City Current. That involvement took on even greater significance in 2024, when the Current’s $120 million CPKC Stadium became the first stadium in the world purpose-built for a professional women’s soccer team.

Meanwhile, Clark Hunt, on top of running the Chiefs, also owns and operates MLS club FC Dallas. Notably, Clark and his brother, Dan Hunt, helped establish the state-of-the-art National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Dallas, after the Hall of Fame was shut down in New York in 2010. The Hunts poured in millions of their own money to build the facility that stands for all the clubs and not just their own.

The 61-year-old also played a significant role in bringing the World Cup to Kansas City by leveraging his stadium and his roots in both Kansas City and Dallas. Had Lamar Hunt been alive today, he would have been proud of what Clark has done not only for the Chiefs’ success but also for the continuation of his soccer legacy.

So with Messi providing the inaugural fireworks to welcome Kansas City to the global soccer stage, the Hunts and Mahomes could not have expected a better outcome.