Brazilian football legend Ronaldo Nazario has said Lionel Messi should be recognised as the greatest player of all time after the Argentine captain scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 World Cup victory over Algeria on June 16.

The three goals in Kansas City marked Messi’s first career World Cup hat-trick.

The performance brought his tournament total to 16 goals, tying him with Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the joint top scorer in World Cup history and moving him past Ronaldo's own career mark of 15 goals.

"The time has come for the world to stop hiding and accept the truth: he is the greatest footballer of all time," Ronaldo told Portuguese sports newspaper A Bola. 

"He continues to prove himself every season, in every major tournament, and even at the World Cup."

Ronaldo, a two-time World Cup winner, added that the match would be remembered in football history.

He added that he was not surprised to see his own goal-scoring record broken by Messi, noting that records are made to be broken and that Argentina enters the 2026 tournament as the defending champions.

MSH

Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is set to feature for Fortune Barishal in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Mushfiqur had played for Sylhet Strikers in the last edition. His price was fixed at 80 lakhs in the players' draft according to the category. Which means he was in 'A' category.

The top category player will play along with other star players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Khaled Ahmed in Fortune Barishal.

Neymar said he was relishing “new challenges and opportunities in new places” after he joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal Tuesday, becoming the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

The Brazil forward, 31, ends a six-year stay in the French capital and follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane in swapping Europe for the Middle East.

“I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said in a statement from the Saudi Pro League.

“I want to write new sporting history, and the Saudi Pro League has tremendous energy and quality players at the moment,” he added.

Neymar was “in negotiations” on Sunday to become the latest football superstar to decamp for Saudi Arabia, leaving Paris Saint-Germain just as Kylian Mbappe was brought back in from the cold by the French champions.

A source close to PSG told AFP that 31-year-old Neymar “no longer figures in the club or manager’s plans” with the Brazilian immediately linked to Al-Hilal in the Gulf kingdom.

Another source in Saudi Arabia said that “direct negotiations” between Neymar’s agents and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were ongoing.