Messi in his first statement after losing the 2026 World Cup: The victory over Egypt “will remain engraved in our memories forever.”

Argentine national team star Lionel Messi expressed his “extreme pain” on his Instagram account on Monday, in his first statement after losing the 2026 FIFA World Cup final to Spain (0-1 after overtime).

The 39-year-old player, who shed tears following the defeat, wrote: “The pain is very intense, and it is difficult for this wound to heal.” But I also keep all the positive aspects.”

The former Spanish Barcelona star added, “It is difficult today to truly appreciate what we have achieved, but this team has reached two World Cup finals in a row.” Messi also congratulated Spain on winning the title.

Messi spoke of the exciting victories over England and Egypt, which “will remain engraved in our memories forever,” and of “the support of an entire country,” which allowed Albiceleste to “once again be among the best teams in the world.”

He added, “Once again, we succeeded in uniting as one nation, and in all of us being together, sharing enormous pride in being Argentines.”

In his message, Messi did not mention his future with the national team.

The Rosario native scored 8 goals during the tournament, but failed to leave his mark in the final match, just like his country’s national team, which was unable to threaten the more organized Spanish team.

In the World Cup, Messi lost two finals (2014 and 2026) while winning one title in 2022 at the expense of France.

According to the media, the American Inter Miami player is not among the players who will return to Buenos Aires.