Lionel Messi has penned a message of thanks to Argentina fans in an emotional statement after their World Cup final defeat to Spain.
The 2022 winners were beaten 1-0 on Sunday as Ferran Torres scored in extra time following a rather dull 90 minutes of football.
Argentina went down to ten men late on when Enzo Fernandez was sent off for two yellow card offences.
Messi, who captained his country, appears to have made his last ever appearance at the World Cup at the age of 39.
And less than 24 hours after defeat at the MetLife Stadium, he wrote down his emotions in a statement posted on Instagram.
‘Thank you’
“The pain is immense, and it will take time for this wound to heal. But I also hold on to all the good,” he said.
“The matches we turned around, giving our all, matches that will forever remain in our memories, the support of an entire country that, together with the hard work and effort of this group, led us to be, once again, among the best in the world.
“Today it’s hard to fully appreciate what we accomplished, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and every message. Once again, we managed to unite as a country and be together, sharing the immense pride of being Argentinian.
“I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship.”
Messi scored eight goals and assisted another four for Argentina in their World Cup run.
The defeat to Spain was the only match in which he didn’t produce a goal contribution.
2
He hinted at possible retirement before kick-off as his boots for the final had ‘El Ultimo Tango’, which is ‘The Last Tango’, written on them.
However, he is under contract at Inter Miami until December 2028, and there is nothing concrete in regards to him calling it quits.
Argentina were way off the pace against Spain as they had just two shots compared to their opponents’ 20 throughout the match.
Fernandez was dismissed just moments before the start of extra time and therefore left the holders with a mountain to climb.
Some Argentina players let their emotions get the better of them at full-time, with Nahuel Molina throwing a punch at Rodri.
Leandro Paredes also attacked two Spain players, and FIFA are set to investigate the post-match scenes.
