Messi silences age debate after becoming World Cup's greatest goalscorer: 'I'm not spending time...'

Lionel Messi is only a day short of turning 39, but he continues to rule the world of football even at such a senior age. On Monday, he etched another historic record as Messi became the highest goalscorer in the history of the FIFA World Cup.

With a brace against Austria in the Group J match in Dallas, Messi surpassed Germany's Miroslav Klose in the all-time list. While Klose had scored 16 goals, Messi now has 18 goals.

Messi: 'Not spending time thinking about my age'

Naturally, after the match, the upcoming birthday of the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi and his turning 39 soon became a major topic during his media interactions, but the former Barcelona forward was quick to shut down all the doubts as he said he doesn't focus on his age, but on playing well for Argentina.

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"I'm not spending time thinking about my age. I'm simply focused on being well," Messi said after the game. "I feel physically good, and maybe that's why I'm playing better."

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Messi, however, hinted that he may miss Argentina's final Group J clash against Jordan, as Argentina have already qualified for the Round of 32.

"The manager (Lionel Scaloni) will decide whether I play or not, or how much I play," Messi said. "I feel good and happy to be part of this group, which always competes no matter who the opponent is and never relaxes."

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Talking about the tough opening against Austria that also included a penalty miss by Messi, the star footballer said the missed chances rattled the defending champions for a while, but they eventually managed to recover and vowed to show the same fighting spirit in the remaining games.

"We missed two or three clear chances," Messi added. "We were controlling the game, but the ball just wouldn't go in. Then we managed to recover, playing very intense, very fast football.

"The team competes, and competes very well. We can play better or worse, but there's no doubt we'll compete in every match the same way, no matter who the opponent is."