Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi gave his gratitude to the team’s fans on Monday after they suffered a 1-0 loss against Spain in the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey on Sunday. 

Messi was seen in tears after the heartbreaking loss and said the pain from loss is immense. The talisman was kept at bay by Spanish defenders as he could not create an impact, which he normally does.

“The pain is immense and it will take time for this wound to heal,” he wrote in Spanish on Instagram. “But I also cherish all the good… The matches we turned around, giving our all, which 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.

“Thank you so 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.

“I also want to congratulate Spain on the championship.”

The talisman once again led his team from the front, with eight goals in as many games and also provided four assists in the competition.  

Messi had won his maiden World Cup title four years ago in Qatar but could not go all the way in 2026 despite being so close. Argentina had also ended as the runners-up in 2014 when they suffered a 1-0 loss against Germany.

This could well be Messi’s last appearance at the World Cup stage and he has scored a total of 21 goals in the tournament, second best to Kylian Mbappe, who has 22 goals to his name.

Messi became the first player to start three World Cup finals and raised his international goals total to 125, second only to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 146.