Fact Check: Do Lionel Messi and Sachin Tendulkar’s Careers Mirror Each Other As Viral Post Claims?

Argentine football legend Lionel Messi recently concluded his GOAT Tour of India, where he visited four cities across three days. During the Mumbai leg of his tour, Messi met and posed for photographs with the “GOAT” of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar.

For sports fans in India, it was the perfect collision of two of their favourite sporting legends. Their career paths have been different, but both Messi and Tendulkar have come to define their football and cricket, respectively.

Now, a viral post on social media suggests that Messi’s and Tendulkar’s careers might not have been too different, after all. Posted by a fan account of Messi, the post picked certain instances where the cricketing icons’ careers have mirrored each other.

This includes similarities that span from their debut days to World Cup journeys, individual awards, and more. But, how many of these parallels stand up to our fact check? Let’s see.

Claim 1: Born On 24th Date

This is the most coincidental of the similarities between Messi and Tendulkar. The Argentine footballer was born on June 24, 1987, while Tendulkar was born 14 years earlier on April 24, 1973. So, yes, both were indeed born on the 24th of a month.

Claim 2: Jersey No. 10

This claim is also true, as both players were (majorly) associated with the No. 10 jersey for most of their careers.

Messi actually made his debut for FC Barcelona wearing the No. 30 jersey before switching to No. 19, making his Argentina debut wearing the latter number. After Ronaldinho’s departure, Messi switched to the No. 10 jersey, which he wore until leaving for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, where he wore No. 30. After his move to Inter Miami, Messi switched back to his iconic No. 10 jersey.

Tendulkar made his debut wearing the jersey number 99, which he wore for a long time in his early career. After returning from a tennis-elbow injury in his career, he also briefly sported a No. 33 jersey. However, for most of his career, Tendulkar, too, wore the No. 10 jersey.

Claim 3: Debut At Age 16

This is true for Tendulkar, who made his international debut at 16 years and 205 days against Pakistan in 1989. Messi, meanwhile, made his senior debut for Barcelona at the age of 17 during a match against Espanyol in October 2004. His Argentina debut came at the age of 18.

Messi did make an ‘unofficial’ appearance at 16 in a friendly against FC Porto in November 2003, but since it was not a competitive fixture, it cannot be considered his official debut.

Claim 4: Lost WC Final But Won POTT

Tendulkar heartbreakingly lost the 2003 ICC ODI World Cup final, with Australia beating India by 125 runs. The Indian batter, however, won the Player of the Tournament (POTT) award, having scored 673 runs in the tournament – including one century.

Meanwhile, Messi’s Argentina suffered an extra-time loss to Germany at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, with Mario Gotze scoring in the 113th minute. Messi ended up winning the Golden Ball award – given to the best player of the tournament – after scoring four times and assisting one more.

Claim 5: Won World Cup After Eight Years

Tendulkar won the only World Cup of his career in 2011, with India beating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the final. Tendulkar indeed finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with 482 runs, behind Tillkaratne Dilshan (500 runs).

Messi famously lifted the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, leading the attack as Argentina beat France 4-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw. Messi ended the tournament with seven goals, second most in the tournament behind his PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe (eight goals).

Claim 6: Most P.O.M. Awards In WC

This is also correct. Tendulkar has been awarded the Player of the Match award nine times in ICC World Cups. Interestingly, the second player on the list is Rohit Sharma (with seven awards). Messi, on the other hand, has been awarded the Player of the Match award 11 times in FIFA World Cups, with Cristiano Ronaldo second on the list with seven.

Claim 7: Won Laureus World Sports Awards

It’s true that both Messi and Tendulkar have indeed won Laureus awards, but not in the same categories. Tendulkar was awarded the Laureus Sporting Moment Award (2000-2020) in 2020. Messi, meanwhile, has won multiple Laureus awards, including becoming the first footballer to win the Sportsman of the Year award in 2020. Messi remains the only player from a team sport to win the award.

Claim 8: All-Time Top Scorer For National Team

Sachin Tendulkar remains, by some margin, the highest run scorer in Indian cricketing history. The legendary batter has amassed 34,357 runs in 782 innings across Tests, ODIs, and T20Is, more than six thousand more than the second player on the list, Virat Kohli.

Messi, meanwhile, has amassed 115 goals for Argentina in 196 caps. This makes him, by far, the highest scorer for his national team, with Gabriel Batistuta second on the list with 56 goals.

Claim 9: Most Centuries/Goals And POM Awards In A Year

In 1998, Tendulkar broke the record for most centuries in a calendar year with 12 tons. Along the way, he won 13 Player of the Match awards across formats for India. Messi, meanwhile, shocked the world after netting 91 goals in the 2012 calendar year. He also had 22 assists, resulting in a world record 113 goal contributions in a calendar year.

Claim 10: Dominance Across Three Decades

This is the biggest similarity between these two legends, in that they have dominated their respective sport from their debut to (in Tendulkar’s case) retirement. Tendulkar was indeed ranked No. 1 by the ICC across the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Messi, meanwhile, won a record eight Ballon d’Ors across three decades.