DOHA: Brazil legend Pele says Lionel Messi “deserves” to win the World Cup after Argentina beat France in a penalty shoot-out earlier this morning.

“Today, football continues to tell something, as always, in a captivating way. Messi won his first World Cup, that’s the way it was decided,” Pele, a three-time World Cup winner, said on Instagram.

Pele also hailed France star Kylian Mbappe who scored a hat-trick in the 3-3 final after added time before coolly converting a penalty in the decider.

“My colleague Mbappe scored four goals in the final. It is a great honor to see this greatness in the future of our sport.”

Argentina’s captain, Lionel Messi finally succeeded in fulfilling his personal dream of lifting the World Cup trophy when La Albiceleste defeated defending champions France 4-2 through a penalty shoot-out after the final action lasted 120 minutes and ended 3-3 at the Lusail Stadium, early this morning.

The end of Qatar 2022 saw Messi, 35, return home proud by setting several respected records at the prestigious tournament.

Messi is one of six players who have played in five World Cup finals alongside Antonio Carbajal (Mexico), Lothar Matthaeus (Germany), Rafael Marquez (Mexico), Andres Guardado (Mexico) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal).

Messi played for the 26th game in the World Cup during the final in Qatar early this morning, thus breaking the record held by Matthaeus with 25 games.