Messi dismisses conspiracy theories surrounding Argentina’s World Cup final defeat

Lionel Messi has rejected conspiracy theories surrounding Argentina’s 1-0 defeat by Spain in the 2026 World Cup final, insisting there was nothing unusual about the match.

Messi addressed the claims during his farewell appearance for Argentina, which ended with a 3-0 friendly victory over Benin in the early hours of Wednesday. The 38-year-old scored once and created two goals in his final game for the national team.

Some Argentina supporters had turned to social media to explain the defeat by Spain, after their opponents dominated for the full 120 minutes. Theories circulated that the Argentina players had been unusually restrained or lacked their normal enthusiasm because they had either been affected by an unknown factor or somehow prevented from performing freely in the final.

The speculation was used by some fans to seek an explanation away from the pitch for Argentina’s display against Spain.

Messi spoke about the defeat for the first time nearly three months after the final, dismissing the idea that anything out of the ordinary had taken place.

“ The last World Cup was extremely exciting,” Messi said in a farewell speech to the supporters, according to Argentinian network ESPN. “We dreamed of winning the World Cup again and came very close, but nothing strange happened in the final, as some people say.

“We gave everything we could. The match against England in the semi-final was extremely demanding for us.”

Messi’s appearance against Benin marked the end of his international career. He bowed out after helping Argentina to a comfortable victory, scoring one of their three goals and setting up the other two.

His comments directly addressed the theories that had emerged following Argentina’s loss to Spain, who secured a 1-0 victory after the final went beyond 90 minutes. The defeat prompted some supporters to question the players’ demeanour and performance, but Messi said the team had simply been affected by the demands of the tournament, particularly the semi-final against England.