Argentina fell 1-0 to Spain, in extra time, in Lionel Messi’s final final. It hurt the way endings we didn’t choose hurt. But let today’s tears not cloud what these twenty years were.
Because it is not a player saying goodbye: it is an era saying goodbye.
This World Cup found him at 39, with tired legs, and even so he was among the best: eight goals, the captain’s armband, a team that followed him all the way to the world final. He tried until the last minute. He took Argentina to the final, battling time, the only opponent that never forgives. He couldn’t do it. Sometimes, not even the gods can.
Let’s look back at what he leaves us. The kid from Rosario who was injected with hormones to grow and ended up becoming the greatest. Four Ballon d’Or awards, then a fifth, and a sixth, and more. The Copa América that broke the curse. And that night in Qatar 2022, when he finally lifted the one he was missing and an entire country cried with happiness.
He spoiled us. He made us believe the impossible happened every weekend. He gave us a whole lifetime of happy Sundays.
He didn’t win today. But there are defeats that do not stain: he leaves with his head held high, giving everything until the end, just as he always played.
We will not see him in a World Cup again. And when someone asks, many years from now, what it was like to watch him play, words will not be enough.
Thank you for so much, Leo. We were happy because he existed. 🐐🇦🇷