By Omotayo Edubi and By Matthew Tabe
Argentina’s Lionel Messi has been fouled 65 times at World Cup tournaments.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward now ranks above Ronaldo and Neymar Jr in this regard.
Maradona is the only player who has won more fouls than Messi, as the late Argentine had 152.
The record set by Maradona is very huge and it may last for eternity, as it will take some doing for any player to beat that.
According to the stats revealed by OptaJoe, Ronaldo has only won 58 fouls in the history of the World Cup.
On Friday night, Messi’s quest to win the World Cup with his nation got another boost, after he led Argentina into the semi-finals courtesy of a 4-3 penalty shootout drama with the Netherlands.
Messi converted his penalty in the shootout and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano MartÃnez saved two attempts. Lautaro Martinez scored the deciding kick.
The match finished 2-2 after extra time, with Messi scoring one goal and setting up another. The Netherlands equalized in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time.
Argentina will play Croatia in the semi-finals on Tuesday.