Messi: 'Maradona supports us from heaven'

"The 2022 World Cup is for Diego Maradona, who has always supported us from heaven," Messi wrote. "It's also for the people who weren't successful in the previous World Cups we attended, like the 2014 World Cup. We deserved to win even in that damn final."

Diego Maradona is the legend that brought Argentina to the 1986 World Cup championship - the tournament where he scored life-changing goals such as "The Hand of God" or "The most beautiful solo in World Cup history". He died in November 2020 of a heart attack, without having time to see Argentina return to glory with three recent consecutive titles: Copa America 2021, Intercontinental Super Cup 2022 and World Cup 2022.

Before that, Argentina lost all the finals of Copa America 2004, 2007, 2015, 2016 and the 2014 World Cup - where Messi and his teammates lost 0-1 to Germany despite creating many delicious opportunities.

At the 2022 World Cup, Messi plays an extremely important role in Argentina's conquest journey. He scored or assisted in eight of the home team's 12 goals until the end of the semi-finals. In the final against France, the 35-year-old striker scored twice, and successfully completed the first penalty in the penalty shootout, helping Argentina win 4-2. Thanks to that, he was awarded the best player award by FIFA.

In yesterday's post, Messi did not forget to thank the current members of the team, especially those "anonymously working day and night" as well as sponsors. He added: "Sometimes failure is part of the journey and of learning. Without disappointment there is no success. From the heart, thank you so much! Go ahead Argentina !!!".