Dhaka, June 17 -- Lionel Messi's dazzling start to the 2026 World Cup has prompted fresh acclaim from some of football's most celebrated figures, with Brazil legend Ronaldo Nazario declaring that the time has come to recognise the talismanic Argentine as the greatest player the game has ever seen.

Messi launched Argentina's title defence in emphatic fashion on Wednesday, scoring a hat-trick against Algeria to underline his enduring brilliance at the age of 38.

With the hat-trick, the left-footed maestro also raised his tally of World Cup goals to 16, tying the all-time mark with Germany's Miroslav Klose.

According to Yahoo Sports, Ronaldo believes the long-running debate over football's greatest player should now be settled.

"Records ...