EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Lionel Messi was in tears at the end. He's always in tears at the end of Argentina games nowadays, but after his World Cup final defeat against Spain, it seemed different. Tears of regret for sure, but possibly, probably, tears of farewell.
If this game in MetLife Stadium was to be Messi's "Last Dance," he did the football equivalent of tripping over his feet.
There was no magical end to his glorious international career after an incredible World Cup in which he belied his age of 39 to score eight goals and inspire Argentina all the way to the final.
Against Spain, Messi was so peripheral that he did not register his first shot at goal until the 117th minute. He had 54 touches in 120 minutes in the final, he didn't create a single chance for a team-mate and had just one shot -- that late effort -- in the whole game.
After a six-week World Cup in which he played like football's Benjamin Button -- who can forget his stunning hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina's first group game? -- time finally caught up with Messi just when Argentina needed him the most: in the World Cup final.
Maybe that's why the tears streamed down his cheeks after the game. Messi wanted so much to win a second World Cup and vacate the stage like an unbeaten, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, but he came up against Spain team that just doesn't do romance.
Luis de la Fuente's team are a machine that just passes opponents into submission. Their victory extended their unbeaten run to 38 games -- a new men's world record -- and during that sequence Spain have barely forced anyone to jump off their seat in excitement.
Where Messi and Argentina have beaten opponents and reached the final through a mixture of chaos, passion and never-say-die spirit, Spain just win by control -- firm, unemotional control -- and even Messi couldn't affect their cold efficiency.
But if this was the last time we ever see Messi in an Argentina shirt, his tears at the end won't be the abiding memory. He has created too many amazing goals and moments in his 207 international appearances for this game to be his defining image. Messi has scored 125 goals -- only Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more international goals -- and registered 68 assists.
The last of Messi's assists was his cross for Lautaro Martínez to head home the game-winner in Argentina's 2-1 semifinal victory against England in Atlanta. That win also brought tears to Messi's eyes -- tears of joy for securing another World Cup final appearance for his country.
It's easy to forget that 10 years ago, Messi had become so disillusioned with constantly being a nearly man with Argentina that he retired from international football.
In the same stadium in New Jersey, Messi -- in tears again -- announced his international retirement after losing the 2016 Copa America final to Chile in a penalty shootout. That was Messi's fourth defeat in a major final: three Copa Americas and the 2014 World Cup.
Messi's failure to make Argentina winners also led to criticism in his home country because he was unable to do what Diego Maradona had done for the Albiceleste. Maradona was Argentina's talisman, a World Cup winner whose passion for his country burned whenever he wore the shirt -- but Messi was regarded as distant, disinterested and only motivated by success with Barcelona.
A month after calling it quits, though, Messi reversed his decision. Success didn't come straightaway, but a 2021 Copa America win ended the country's 28-year wait for international honours, and the World Cup followed a year later in Qatar.
Messi was the hero of that win in Qatar, Argentina's third World Cup title, scoring seven goals and registering three assists on the way to doing what Maradona had done by carrying the team to glory.
Qatar 2022 cemented his status as Maradona's worthy successor, but his feats in this World Cup might just have elevated him even higher than Argentina's other legendary number ten. Every other debate or argument has also been settled by his performances in the United States over the past six weeks.
Maradona, Pele and Brazil's Ronaldo have all laid claim to being the best footballer ever seen -- the GOAT -- but Messi has now eclipsed them all.
Pele won three World Cups, but his wins were all part of great Brazil teams. Messi has dragged an average Argentina team to win one World Cup and almost win a second, but when he was unable to make a difference, his team barely lay a glove on Spain.
That's how good Messi is. He can elevate the ordinary to levels of greatness and that is the mark of a true great, the mark of the GOAT. And despite Spain midfielder Rodri being announced as FIFA's Golden Ball winner -- the tournament's best player -- after the final, Messi was the true star of the 2026 World Cup.
The fans know it too. When Rodri held his trophy aloft, the MetLife rang out to chants of "Messi, Messi, Messi," from the Argentina supporters and probably many neutrals too. Rodri has the Golden Ball and the winners' medal, but Messi has the memories -- he had already won two Golden Balls (2014 & 2022) and a winners' medal -- so he has nothing left to achieve.
Maybe he'll be back for more in 2030 at the age of 43, but more realistically, this was the end and it was a glorious one, despite the result in the final.