‘Immense pain’: Messi breaks silence after World Cup final loss

Lionel Messi said Argentina’s World Cup final defeat by Spain had left “immense” pain but praised his team for reaching a second successive final and thanked supporters for uniting behind the national side.

Argentina were hoping to make history as the third team to ever win consecutive World Cup titles, but the nation struggled to inject their superstar No.10 or even find their way as a collective into a game against Spain, who won 1-0.

“The pain is immense and it’s going to take a long time for this wound to heal,” Messi wrote on social media.

“But I’ll also hold on to all the good memories… the support of an entire country which, together with the hard work and effort of this squad, led us to be, once again, amongst the best in the world.”

Messi, 39, also congratulated Spain and said Argentina could take pride in reaching consecutive World Cup finals.

He became only the second player, after Brazil’s Cafu, to appear in three men’s World Cup finals, having played in the deciders in 2014, 2022 and this year.

The Inter Miami forward remains Argentina’s most decorated player, having led the country to the 2022 World Cup, Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024, and the 2022 Finalissima. He is also an eight-times Ballon d’Or winner and widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers.

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“Once again, we managed to come together as a country and stand united,” Messi added, “sharing the immense pride of being Argentine.”

The final did not come without its controversies though, with the most obvious flashpoint coming when Argentina were reduced to 10 men and Messi attempted to square the ledger by getting a rival sent off, too.

Argentina were left a man down in the 93rd minute of the match after Enzo Fernández, who had been shown a yellow card in the first half for dissent, received his second caution of the match and was consequently ordered off the pitch for his tackle on Pau Cubarsí.

The referee wasted no time pulling the red card out of his pocket as Cubarsí lay prone on the turf, leaving Argentina’s players and fans raging inside the stadium.

But while teammates pleaded for the decision to be overturned, Messi attempted to get the referee to show Spain’s Marc Cucurella a red card as well.

The Spanish defender was seen trying to speak with Messi before the referee searched for his red card, with Cucurella partially covering his mouth as he spoke.

Under the new rulings implemented at this year’s World Cup, players can be sent off if they use their hand to cover their mouth when speaking with rivals. That ruling is only applied if the conversation is deemed to be confrontational.

After Cucurella’s actions, Messi immediately informed the referee but his pleas were left unheard.

“The one thing you want is good sportsmanship and that was sad to see Lionel Messi doing that,” England great Wayne Rooney said on the BBC.

Joe Hart added: “You realise how on top Spain are in this game if even Lionel Messi is reverting to that.”

At the end of regular time, the match was still 0-0. Spain then scored the tournament-winning goal in the 106th minute.

Former Barcelona midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng called out Argentina for being “sore losers” after some players instigated a post-game melee, before declaring that the ending was “not what Leo Messi deserves”.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, on the other hand, delivered a teary recount of his team’s performance to the media, insisting his side “played their hearts out”.

But with 32 per cent possession over 125 minutes, three shots at goal that were all off target and a superstar who had little impact, some may think otherwise.

The 24 fouls and five yellow cards his team recorded adds to the case that Argentina were completely outplayed in the tournament decider.

Argentina’s next chance at glory in four years time could be without Messi, who Scaloni described as being “the best player to ever stand on a pitch”.

The 39-year-old has yet to confirm what his future looks like in the international football scene, but he is signed with Inter Miami at club level until 2028.

He will be 43 by the time the next World Cup is hosted in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, two years older than Cristiano Ronaldo was at this year’s event.

Messi’s seemingly aimless walks around the field have been a talking point this year. While walking in the final, had little impact on the game and didn’t touch the ball once in the penalty box.

While his walks are somewhat deceiving to anyone unfamiliar with his strategy, it seemed that Spain worked out how to block Messi out of the attack.

“Messi barely had any impact on the game because of Spain’s dominance,” former England goalkeeper Hart said on the BBC.

“He hardly had a sniff until the very end. He still had that little bit of life. Anything that was going to happen for Argentina was going to come through him.”

There is no doubting that the world has witnessed greatness watching Messi in action and that, as Scaloni pointed out, Argentina is proud of his achievements.

To achieve what he has and still be in top form at 39 is all the more impressive given most mere mortals are retired by 35. But it seems Argentina’s run at the World Cup this time around was just one game too far for Messi.

“I think the England game used all the energy that he possibly had,” Craig Foster said on Stan Sport’s Added Time.

“I couldn’t see any way that he could do all of that again. What he did after (Anthony Gordon’s goal) is something that 19-year-olds can’t do, and he is 39.

“Once he hit the knockout stage - he did have an incredible tournament, but he only had three days between games. I think it was just one game too far for him.

“That last game is likely his final. Spain were just too strong.”

Will Messi help Argentina defend their Copa America for a third consecutive time in 2028? Will he return for his seventh World Cup in 2030? Only time will tell.