The Argentine captain published an emotional message after the loss in the 2026 World Cup final, highlighted the team's journey, thanked the fans for their support, and congratulated Spain on their victory
Along with an image in which he appears with the silver medal and visibly moved, the captain began his post reflecting on the impact the result had on him. "The pain is very great and it will be hard to heal this wound", he wrote.
Despite the disappointment, the Rosario native chose to highlight the team's journey throughout the tournament. "But I also want to focus on all the good… On the matches we turned around giving our all that will remain forever in memory, with the support of an entire country that, along with the work and effort of this group, brought us back to being, once again, among the best in the world", he expressed.
Messi also emphasized the importance of valuing the process the National Team is going through beyond the outcome in the final. "Today it’s hard to appreciate what we did, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals", he noted, referring to the title won in Qatar 2022 and the runner-up finish achieved in this edition.
Messi's post on Instagram
In another part of the message, the captain thanked the support of Argentine fans throughout the competition. "Thank you very much 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 Argentine", he affirmed.
Before closing his post, the number ten had a gesture towards the team that won the title and wrote: "I also want to congratulate Spain on the championship".
The message came almost a day after the final and marked the captain's first public statement after the defeat, in what was surely his last participation in a World Cup.
