At 39, the Argentine superstar thanks the nation for its support, reflects on the defeat to Spain, and hints that his World Cup journey has come to an end.
Lionel Messi spoke out on Monday (20) following Argentina’s defeat to Spain in the World Cup final. On social media, the superstar expressed his frustration over finishing as runners-up.
“The pain is immense, and the wound will take a long time to heal. But I also choose to hold on to all the good things… To the matches we turned around by giving everything we had, and that will remain in our memories forever. With the support of an entire country, together with the hard work and dedication of this group, we once again reached the ranks of the best teams in the world. Today it’s difficult to appreciate what we achieved, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals,” he wrote.
In addition to thanking the fans for their support, Messi praised Argentina’s unity and acknowledged Spain’s victory, congratulating the team on winning the title:
“Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for every congratulatory message and every word of support. Once again, we were able to come together as a nation and stand united, sharing the immense pride of being Argentine. I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship.”
After a 1-0 defeat to Spain, Argentina finished as World Cup runners-up. The tournament is expected to have marked 39-year-old Lionel Messi’s final World Cup appearance, bringing an end to his participation in football’s biggest competition.
Read the original post on Lionel Messi’s official Instagram: @leomessi