Lionel Messi has publicly acknowledged for the first time since Argentina’s heartbreaking defeat to Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, that it was “immense” the loss hurt him, and that he is proud of his team-mates and grateful to the fans who supported the national side all the way.
Argentina’s plans to retain the World Cup were dashed on Sunday after suffering a 1-0 extra-time loss to Spain at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Ferran Torres was the one to put the game in the bag as Argentina’s dream of retaining the World Cup trophy back-to-back for the first time since Brazil in 1962 was dashed.
In a touching post on social media, Messi admitted that he was let down by not winning the end.
“The pain is immense and it’s going to take a long time for this wound to heal,” he wrote.
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The Argentine captain has expressed that he will treasure the trip and the experiences he made throughout the tournament, even though they weren’t successful.
He congratulated the team for their effort and thanked fans for their continued support, referring to the team’s ability to bring the nation together once again, through football.
“But I’ll keep all the good memories too, the support from a whole country that, together with the work and effort of all this team, helped us to be, once again, one of the best in the world.” Messi continued.
The 39-year-old also extended his best wishes to Spain for their victory and Argentina for making it a second successive World Cup final.
The Argentine marked the third men’s World Cup final he has played in, joining Brazil’s Cafu as only the second player in World Cup history to do so, after the 2014 and 2022 deciders.
He finally ended with a reference to the sense of unity amongst Argentines throughout the campaign, stating that the team had brought the country together again and had given the people “the immense pride of being Argentine.”
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