Unseen footage shows Lionel Messi telling Argentina players ‘let’s forget everything’ moments before World Cup final
UNSEEN footage of Argentina’s pre-match World Cup final preparations has emerged – including a mysterious speech from Lionel Messi.
Argentina fell to a 1-0 defeat to Spain in Sunday’s final, but were ultimately flattered by that scoreline as the new world champions registered 20 shots to the former world champions’ three.
Messi was seen crying on the pitch as he failed to deliver a second world crown after the success of 2022.
But new footage has emerged revealing what Messi told his team-mates before they walked on to the pitch at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
A video of the Argentina players stood outside their dressing room showed the Inter Miami ace issuing a rallying cry to his team.
However, what the 39-year-old said has sparked speculation online that something was awry in camp before the final.
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In the footage Messi is heard saying: “Come on, guys, stay calm, folks.
“Let’s stay calm, guys. Let’s just think about playing, stay calm.
“Let’s forget about everything. Let’s just think about playing, folks.”
The message of forgetting everything left some fans speculating that there may have been some sort of issue before.
One fan pointed out how Enzo Fernandez was apparently “close to tears” and Lisandro Martinez “had sadness written all over his face”.
A second claimed the Argentina stars had “weird faces” in the footage.
A third added the team “didn’t look themselves”.
Theories doing the rounds on social media have suggested the message could have been about the team trying to forget about the negative perception of them throughout the tournament, with many criticising the beaten finalists for them aggressive and streetwise style of play.
Another hypothesised the players could have been upset at the prospect of playing with Messi for the final time on the world stage.
Regardless, Argentina were second best from the first minute of the game and never seemed to find their groove against a dominant Spain side.
The South American nation had mustered a defiant defence against Spain but without offering so much as a shot at goal in response during the 90 minutes of normal time.
If there was any hope of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat then that was dashed when wantaway Chelsea star Fernandez stupidly flew into a 50/50 challenge on Pau Cubarsi and was sent off after sending the Barcelona star flying into the air.
Fellow Barca star Ferran Torres then scored the winner in extra time, with Argentina only then attempting to attack and take the final to penalties yet still failing to put a single shot on target.
After the full-time whistle went Argentina player Leandro Paredes was seen grabbing Spain’s Eric Garcia by the throat in a crazy brawl while Nahuel Molina had also punched towards Rodri‘s stomach as he ran past him.
Fifa have launched an investigation into the matter.
Messi was left in tears after the final and later released a statement expressing his pain at the defeat.
He had said: “The pain is so great and it’s going to be hard for me to close this wound.
“But I’ll keep all the good stuff too.. With the matches we turned leaving everything and that will remain forever in the 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.
“Today it’s hard to evaluate what we did, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals.
“Thank you very much from the heart for every greeting and for every message.
“Once again we manage to unite as a country and be all together, sharing the immense pride of being Argentinian. I also want to congratulate Spain for the championship.”
SOURCE: THESUN