“If there is an Argentine who loves Spain and, if I'm not mistaken, it's you. How did you experience the World Cup final and, beyond the World Cup, everything that has been built around it?” he wanted to know.
The actor recalled how he experienced the World Cup final between the Argentine national team and Spain and questioned the criticism that Lionel Messi and the national team received
“If there is an Argentine who loves Spain and, if I'm not mistaken, it's you. How did you experience the World Cup final and, beyond the World Cup, everything that has been built around it?” he wanted to know.
Darín acknowledged that the possibility of facing the Spanish team had generated mixed feelings for him from the moment Argentina secured its place in the final.
“The first thing I can tell you is that once we reached the final, after the glorious match against England, I was very happy and worried that the final would be Argentina-Spain,” he recalled.
Despite that concern, he explained that he found some comfort in the opponent that the national team would face. “I said: ‘Well, if we win, we win. And if we lose, it's to Spain’,” he expressed.
His relationship with the European country made that final particularly special for him, although his support for the Argentine national team remained intact.
The announcement of Lionel Messi's retirement from the Argentine national team marked the end of a historic era and generated numerous reactions both inside and outside the country. The captain's decision also came at a particularly painful moment in his life, following the death of his father, Jorge Messi.
Amid the repercussions of the footballer's farewell, Ricardo Darín gave an interview to COPE radio in Spain and recalled how he experienced the last World Cup final, in which Argentina faced the Spanish team.
The actor not only spoke about his feelings during that match but also referred to the atmosphere that, in his view, was created afterward around the Albiceleste. In that sense, he pointed out those who criticized the national team and particularly its captain.
“There was talk of these anti-Argentina, anti-Messi, anti-this and anti-that campaigns. Well, they can rest easy. Now Messi will never play for the national team again,” Darín stated.
During the interview, journalist Carlos Herrera highlighted the bond that Darín has with Spain and asked him how he had gone through a final that pitted the two countries against each other.