Messi at 39, Ronaldo at 41 — and a journalist who wouldn't be shocked to see them both at the next World Cup
Emma Hayes argues that the world's best strikers are redefining longevity — and that Messi and Ronaldo may not have said goodbye to the World Cup just yet.
Messi is 39. Ronaldo is 41. And according to Emma Hayes, that may not be the end — it may be the prologue to one more World Cup.
The coach wrote in The Guardian that the skill set demanded of an elite modern centre-forward actually favours longevity. In her view, the secret is no longer in the legs — it's in the head. "A lot of the important things are in the brain rather than in the engine," Hayes wrote, in an analysis of the veterans at this World Cup.
The argument is simple and powerful: positioning, instinct, timing — these qualities don't age the way pace does. And those who have spent decades dominating crowded penalty areas know exactly where to be before anyone else.
Hayes went further and made a bold prediction: she believes the record for goals in a single World Cup — 13, scored by Just Fontaine in 1958 — could be broken at this tournament. The level of the strikers on the pitch, she says, is exceptional.
The Golmetria model places Argentina among the favourites for the title, with a 20.26% chance of lifting the trophy. Portugal appear at 5.03% — figures that reflect the difference in each side's journey through the tournament so far.
But what Hayes raises goes beyond statistics. It's about what these two players represent: a generation that refused to age at the normal pace. Messi and Ronaldo look after their bodies with a discipline that is shaping the next generation — she cites Erling Haaland as an example of someone who has already absorbed that mindset.
The question that lingers: what if 2026 isn't the final chapter? What if there's still one more?