Lionel Messi has posted a branded video on Instagram declaring the “GOAT debate” settled, just days after announcing his retirement from international football.
The video, shared on Messi’s official Instagram account on Wednesday, forms part of a Michelob Ultra advertising campaign titled “Tab Closed.” The ad uses a long bar receipt to summarise Messi’s Argentina career, printing his major achievements like items on a bill.
The video opens with a bartender preparing to close out a tab. Instead of food and drink orders, the receipt lists milestones from Messi’s international career.
The printed bill includes his final Argentina numbers: 207 appearances and 125 goals. It also highlights his major international titles, the 2021 Copa America, the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2024 Copa America.
The receipt also breaks down his World Cup record, listing 21 goals, 23 wins and 99 chances created across his six World Cup appearances.
Other lines on the receipt reference records broken, expectations redefined and fans inspired around the world. It also mentions his famous goal against Mexico and the number of supporters, including rival fans, who were moved to tears watching him play.
The final line on the receipt reads “GOAT debate: settled,” using the acronym for Greatest of All Time, a phrase widely used to describe the best footballer in history.
Messi has long been compared with Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, a rivalry that intensified during their years in La Liga, when Messi played for Barcelona and Ronaldo for Real Madrid. The two also met several times in the Champions League and on the international stage.
Messi and Ronaldo have faced each other 36 times across club and country football. Messi’s teams won 16 of those matches, Ronaldo’s teams won 11, and the remaining nine ended in draws. Messi scored 22 goals in these meetings, one more than Ronaldo’s 21.
At international level, Ronaldo has scored 146 goals for Portugal in 233 appearances, while Messi finished his Argentina career with 125 goals in 207 appearances.
Ronaldo holds more Champions League titles than Messi, but he has never won the World Cup despite six attempts. Messi, now 39, lifted the trophy with Argentina in 2022, completing the one honour that had eluded him throughout his career.
