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Lionel Messi has explained the reasoning behind his viral gesture towards his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, after Argentina's FIFA World Cup win last month.
La Albiceleste beat France in the final of the showpiece event in Qatar on 18 December. The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) playmaker scored a brace for Argentina as the game finished 3-3 after 120 minutes of action.
He also scored his team's first spot-kick as they won 4-2 in penalty shootouts to lift their third World Cup title. After the full-time whistle, Lionel Messi was seen gesturing towards his family in the stands and mouthing "that's it".
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The moment went viral, with fans seeing the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner in a moment of unmatched joy and relief. The former Barcelona forward has finally shed light on what the gesture meant and the emotions behind it.
Speaking in a recent interview on the Argentine radio channel Urbana Play (h/t GOAL), Messi said:
"Why did I say 'that's it' to Antonela? Because it was over, after so much time, so much suffering. There were times when I suffered a lot with the national team, many disappointments, lost finals... I received a lot of criticism, of all colors.
"And my family suffered much more than me. It was closing the circle: we won the Copa América, the World Cup. That's it. There's nothing left."
His side lost 1-0 in the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup to Germany. Messi was also a losing finalist in Copa America three times (2007, 2015, 2016).
He finally got his hands on the continental trophy in 2021, when they beat Brazil 1-0 in the final. A year and a half later, Argentina were crowned world champions in Qatar.
Lionel Messi reveals his most difficult game with Argentina at 2022 FIFA World Cup
Argentina lost 2-1 to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in their group-stage opener. They scraped past Australia by a 2-1 margin in the round of 16 and had to beat the Netherlands on penalties in the quarter-finals.
However, Lionel Messi has labeled a rather comfortable 2-0 group-stage win against Mexico as his toughest game at the World Cup. He opened the scoring in the 64th minute before Enzo Fernandez sealed the deal three minutes from time.
Having lost their opening game, a loss against the North American nation would have virtually ended any hopes for Argentina to qualify from the group. Speaking to the aforementioned source, via BolaVip, Lionel Messi continued:
"I think the game against Mexico was the most difficult one for us because of everything that was at stake. Despite the result, I think it was also our worst game. It was a must-win game and that makes you play differently."
