Lionel Messi used the words of farewell in his first message since the World Cup final to congratulate Spain after La Roja knocked out Argentina, leaving the star in tears.
Ferran Torres’s extra-time strike settled the tumultuous clash, with Messi – who may have played his last glittering world game – crying on the pitch before skipping talks with his team-mates.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the greetings and messages,” Messi wrote on Instagram.
“The pain is great and this wound will take time to heal, we were once again able to unite as a country and stand together, sharing great pride in being Argentine.
“It’s hard to fully appreciate our success right now, but this team has reached two consecutive World Cup finals.”
Lionel Messi: How Argentina returned to ‘World Cup elite’
Messi had an intense competition, scoring eight goals and four assists in eight games at the age of 39.
The star led his country to the title in 2022 and was edged out at the last call-up by France’s 10-goal striker Kylian Mbappe, the only player to equal Messi’s total of 21 goals in the finals.
“I also hold on to all the good things,” said Messi, who has scored 125 goals and 207 appearances for Argentina.
“The games we turned around by giving everything – moments that will stay in our memories forever – and the support of the whole country, combined with this team’s hard work and effort, put us back among the world champions again.
“I also want to congratulate Spain for winning the title.”
Lionel Messi: No contact with Argentina manager Scaloni
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni joined Messi in not being able to hide his despair after the final whistle at MetLife Stadium.
“I haven’t talked to Leo,” Scaloni told Ole, suggesting that his time could be up when his contract expires in December.
“I will talk to the president: I will fulfill my contract and see. I feel the need to think. I don’t know if I will be able to do something as big as this. [again].
“Maybe we will have to see, I thank the president for the opportunity, for giving me this position, this place is everyone’s dream.
“We tried until the last minute to give our best as a team of coaches and players, it’s good that I took this time to think about it.
“This place is very beautiful – a dream place, my coaching team and I never thought we would ever be there.
“In order to continue, many things are needed: to reset, to create a team like this, which may not be formed again. It hurts me a lot. I’m sorry.”
Argentina vs Spain: Lionel Messi’s statistics
Messi became the second player in the history of the World Cup to appear in three finals (2014, 2022 and 2026), along with Cafu from Brazil (1994, 1998, 2002).
At 39 years and 25 days old, he is the oldest foreign player to ever play in a World Cup final, and Argentina are the sixth defending champions.
Having won all of their previous seven games in the 2026 edition, Argentina failed to become the first team since Brazil, who won seven out of seven in 2002, to have a 100% winning record in a single World Cup.
When is Lionel Messi’s next match?
While most members of the Argentina team flew together to Buenos Aires, Messi went to Rosario with his family.
His preparations can now begin to return to MLS side, Inter Miami, with a full schedule.
Assuming Messi takes at least a week off, here’s what the Herons’ fixture list looks like in August. An asterisk denotes a match that starts from the previous day in a particular location.
| The day | They don’t oppose | Start time is BST | ET | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Aug 2 | Columbus (H) | 00:30 | 19:30* | 16:30* |
| Wednesday, August 6 | San Luis (H) | 00:30 | 19:30* | 16:30* |
| Saturday, August 9 | Monterrey (H) | 01:00 | 20:00* | 17:00* |
| Wednesday, August 13 | Leon (H) | 00:30 | 19:30* | 16:30* |
| Saturday, August 16 | Nashville (A) | 01:30 | 20:30* | 17:30* |
| Wednesday, Aug 20 | Philadelphia (A) | 00:30 | 19:30* | 16:30* |
| Saturday, Aug 23 | Toronto (H) | 00:30 | 19:30* | 16:30* |
| Saturday, Aug 30 | Montreal (H) | 00:30 | 19:30* | 16:30* |
