<p>Brazilian legend Pele said <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/lionel-messi-the-goat-1173005.html" target="_blank">Lionel Messi</a> "deserved" to be a <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/messi-leads-argentina-to-fifa-world-cup-glory-at-long-last-1172962.html" target="_blank">World Cup winner</a> after Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout in Sunday's final.</p>.<p>"Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way. Messi winning his first World Cup, as his trajectory deserved," Pele, a three-time World Cup champion, wrote on Instagram.</p>.<p>Pele also hailed French striker Kylian Mbappe who scored a hat-trick in the final which had ended 3-3 after extra-time before coolly slotting in a penalty in the shootout.</p>.<p>"My dear friend, Mbappe, scoring four goals in a final. What a gift it was to watch this spectacle to the future of our sport."</p>
<p>Brazilian legend Pele said <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/lionel-messi-the-goat-1173005.html" target="_blank">Lionel Messi</a> "deserved" to be a <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/messi-leads-argentina-to-fifa-world-cup-glory-at-long-last-1172962.html" target="_blank">World Cup winner</a> after Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout in Sunday's final.</p>.<p>"Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way. Messi winning his first World Cup, as his trajectory deserved," Pele, a three-time World Cup champion, wrote on Instagram.</p>.<p>Pele also hailed French striker Kylian Mbappe who scored a hat-trick in the final which had ended 3-3 after extra-time before coolly slotting in a penalty in the shootout.</p>.<p>"My dear friend, Mbappe, scoring four goals in a final. What a gift it was to watch this spectacle to the future of our sport."</p>