Argentina captain Lionel Messi was left in tears following his team's 1-0 loss to Spain in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in New Jersey on Sunday. After his team's defeat, Messi penned a long, heartfelt note to the fans, thanking them.
The Inter Miami star said his team should remain proud of reaching two consecutive FIFA World Cup finals.
Argentina reached the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where they defeated France 4-2 on penalties, helping Messi finally end his World Cup title drought.
Lionel Messi pens heartfelt note
Had Argentina defeated Spain on Sunday, the Albiceleste would have been the first team since Brazil in 1962 to defend the World Cup title. "The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal," Lionel Messi wrote on Instagram.
"But I also hold onto all the good things... The matches we turned around by giving it our all — moments that will remain in our memories forever — and the support of an entire country, which, combined with this group's hard work and effort, brought us back among the world's elite once again.
"It is hard to appreciate our achievement right now fully, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals," he added.
The 39-year-old had a memorable tournament, netting eight goals and four assists, but that wasn't enough to win either the Golden Boot or the Golden Ball. France's Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot with 10 goals and four assists, whereas Spain captain Rodri won the Golden Ball award.
Despite missing out on both awards, Messi went on to break multiple records during the tournament, most notably Miroslav Klose's record for the most goals scored in the FIFA World Cup.
Klose was the tournament's top goal-scorer with 16 goals before the World Cup, but Messi changed all that by netting a hat-trick against Austria in the group stage, to get to 18 goals. However, the record for most goals in FIFA World Cup history currently belongs to Kylian Mbappe, who has 22 goals to his name.
"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and message," the former Barcelona star wrote. "Once again, we managed to unite as a country and stand together, sharing the immense pride of being Argentine. “I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship,” he added.
Argentina had remained unbeaten throughout the tournament leading up to the final. Quite often, the Albiceleste players had their work cut out for them as they scripted comeback victories over Egypt in the round of 16 and England in the semi-finals.
However, they fell short in the final, which went to extra time after a 0-0 scoreline in regular time. Ferran Torres netted the eventual winner for Spain in the 106th minute to hand them just their second FIFA World Cup title.
