Lionel Messi trying to snitch on Cucurella was his only visible moment of last World Cup game

Lionel Messi is the greatest player in the history of soccer. You know this. I know this. No soccer player has ever been as creative, as prolific, and as singularly brilliant as the legendary Argentine. Full stop. Nevertheless, you'd be forgiven if you had forgotten that Messi actually played in Sunday's men's World Cup Final. Spain was in such control of its 1-0 win that it managed to render the 39-year-old Messi invisible, except for extremely small bursts of aimless dribbles and touches that went nowhere.

In fact, the most visible Messi moment, in his last World Cup game, no less, might have been when he tried to coax Spain's Marc Cucurella into a red card. And to be candid: It was a laughable attempt to do so, a true stretch, at best.

You see, after Enzo Fernández got himself sent off for a red card in stoppage time, a clearly inferior Argentina side was now grasping at straws. Messi, more than anyone, knew that the Argentines were already at a disadvantage when both teams were full strength. With Argentina now down to 10 men, it was only a matter of time before Spain would get its moment of glory, courtesy of Ferran Torres.

Not long after Fernández's red card, Messi engaged in a chat with Cucurella. When Cucurella briefly grazed his own face with his hand during the short conversation, Messi tried to get a watching referee to send him off with a red card for covering his mouth while talking to an opponent. Despite his desperate reaction to talk Messi down, Cucurella, of course, was in no justifiable danger of being sent off because their interaction didn't come in a confrontation and, rather obviously, he didn't really "cover his mouth" to the letter of the law.

On some level, kudos to Messi for trying this, even if it was a stretch. When the World Cup is on the line, you can and should do anything to color outside the lines to try and help your country win. If Messi had somehow succeeded, both teams would've been down to 10 men, and maybe this game would've gotten to penalty kicks, where Argentina would've had a more realistic chance at winning. Still, it speaks volumes that this was easily Messi's most memorable moment from an otherwise forgettable final World Cup game for Argentina. Which is ironic when you think about all the "rigged" allegations regarding Argentina from soccer fans.

Spain nullified Messi and Argentina so much that he was literally forced to beg for some help from the referees. That's really funny to consider in hindsight.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Lionel Messi trying to snitch on Cucurella was his only visible moment of last World Cup game