Lionel Messi, captain of the Argentine national team, appeared on Monday in pain over Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Spain in the World Cup final, congratulated La Roja on the title, and highlighted the effort of the Albiceleste and the support of the fans.
“The pain is very great and it will be hard to close this wound,” said the 39-year-old footballer via Instagram, who broke down in tears this Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey after Argentina’s defeat in extra time.
However, he urged to hold on to “all the good”. “With the matches we turned around giving everything and that will remain forever in memory, with the support of an entire country that together with the work and effort of this group led us to be, once again, among the best in the world,” he added.
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“Today it’s hard to appreciate what we did, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals”, he highlighted, referring to the Qatar 2022 final, in which Argentina was crowned champion after 36 years without world titles.
Messi expressed gratitude “for every greeting and every message” and highlighted the impact of the Albiceleste on Argentine society: “Once again we managed to unite as a country and be all together, sharing the immense pride of being Argentine.”
“I also want to congratulate Spain on the championship”, Messi concluded, who did not travel back to the South American country with the team, but stayed in the United States, although he is expected to travel in the coming days to Rosario, his hometown.
