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Lionel Messi has won an award days after Argentina lost the World Cup final to Spain.
Last weekend saw the curtain fall on the World Cup, with Spain beating Argentina 1-0 in extra-time thanks to Ferran Torres' 106th-minute winner at MetLife Stadium. However, the final was marred by Argentina's efforts to spoil the game throughout, with Lionel Scaloni's side attempting to break Spain's control by tactically fouling their opponents at every opportunity.
They were also reduced to 10 men at the end of regular time when Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a second yellow following his reckless and unnecessary challenge on Spain's Pau Cubarsi. Come the final whistle, the ugly scenes continued, with Leandro Paredes spotted throwing punches at some of Spain's players, including Barcelona star Gavi, who has said he does not want to see the former banned despite the incident.
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During the trophy lift, Argentina also turned its back on Spain, a move branded unsporting.
Spain's World Cup win also saw its captain, Rodri, win the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, an award given to the tournament's best player, and one Messi received four years prior after leading Argentina to glory in Qatar.
While Messi was named runner-up this time, he has won the award before, as the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) named the Argentina star its 'Best Player'.
"The International Federation of Football History & Statistics is proud to announce that Lionel Messi of Argentina has been named the IFFHS Best Player, the highest individual honour bestowed by our federation upon the outstanding performer of the tournament," said the organization in a statement.
"This distinction is determined by the IFFHS overall performance index — a rigorous, data-driven methodology incorporating weighted match ratings, goals, assists, and knockout-round impact across the full duration of a player's World Cup campaign. After exhaustive analysis of every performance recorded at World Cup 2026, the verdict is unambiguous."
During the 2026 World Cup, Messi scored eight goals and registered four assists in eight games, earning an average match rating of 8.33 from the IFFHS.
Throughout the tournament, the 39-year-old delivered magical moments aplenty. In Argentina's World Cup opener against Algeria, he scored a hat-trick, following that up with a brace against Austria.
He also scored twice during the knockout stages against Cape Verde and Egypt, and delivered two assists in Argentina's World Cup semifinal victory over England. However, undoubtedly, the trophy Messi wanted this summer was a second World Cup.
In a post on Instagram, Messi broke his silence following Argentina's defeat, telling his followers he was proud of the journey he and his teammates had been on, whilst also adding the result of Sunday's final had left him in pain.
"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," wrote Messi.
"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.
He added, "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."
