Lionel Messi, the legendary Argentine footballer, may have played his last World Cup match. On Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Argentina lost 1-0 to Spain in the final. Messi was in tears on the field, lamenting a missed chance to win a second consecutive title.

In an Instagram post on Monday evening, Messi wrote in Spanish: "The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal. But I also hold onto all the good things... The matches we turned around by giving it our all – moments that will remain in our memories forever – and the support of an entire country which, combined with this group's hard work and effort, brought us back among the world's elite once again."

Argentina defeated France on penalties after a 3-3 draw in the 2022 final in Qatar, earning Messi the last major trophy of his career. In the 2026 tournament in North America, Argentina was again one of the best teams, rallying past England in the semifinal before facing a Spanish defense that held them without a shot on goal.

Messi turned 39 during the tournament and will be 43 for the 2030 World Cup in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. He added: "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and message. Once again, we managed to unite as a country and stand together, sharing the immense pride of being Argentine. I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship."

Messi broke Miroslav Klose's record of 16 all-time World Cup goals early in the tournament, finishing with 21, but was caught and surpassed by Kylian Mbappe (22). The French star also denied Messi the Golden Boot, scoring 10 goals to Messi's eight.

ESPN reported Monday that Messi and his Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul will miss the next two regular-season matches and the MLS All-Star Game to rest and recover from the World Cup.

Source: www.aljazeera.com