The writer Osvaldo Soriano once framed a truth about Argentinian identity: a person is not truly Argentine without facing a deep, raw failure and a surge of sorrow that tests the heart. That idea runs like a thread through Lionel Messi’s story, a sort of personal DNA, a passport stamped not just by birthplace but by the trials that come with belonging. For Messi, born in Rosario to Argentine parents, connected to Argentine brothers, with a distinctly Argentine accent, a lifelong fan of Newell’s, a mate lover, and a devoted follower of Maradona, that sense of being fully seen in the country of birth remained stubbornly unsettled. He carried every mixture of pride and doubt, wondering what else might be needed for the nation to acknowledge him without reservation. What ritual, setting, or ceremony could finally anchor him as an authentic son of the land he had grown up in until puberty?
In the green rectangle of his career, Messi did everything right, like the most disciplined student. He shattered old records and carved new ones, tallies of goals that had been imagined and those that had never existed before. He crafted dazzling plays and carried the sport’s imagination on his shoulders, becoming the most celebrated figure in every major competition. Yet triumph did not arrive every time; failure arrived too, painfully so. Still, he possessed a notable strength: after each defeat, he recovered quickly, reassembling his confidence and returning to play with the same uncanny magic that had always defined him.
Then, in 2016, a turning point emerged. There was a night in the United States when the previous rhythm fractured—when a sense of failure became a heavy, almost suffocating weight, a punishment that felt infinite. It was during the Copa América that year, a tournament marked by a stubborn pattern of close calls and heartbreaks that had haunted Argentina in recent finals.
On June 26, 2016, Argentina fell in the final on penalties to Chile, the third straight final defeat after the World Cup final in 2014 against Germany and the 2015 Copa América final again against Chile. Messi did not hide his tears. After a shower, he announced that he would step away from the national team. “I’ve already tried a lot, it hurts me more than anyone that I can’t be champion with Argentina, but that’s the way it is, it didn’t happen and unfortunately I’m leaving without being able to achieve it… That’s it, the national team is over for me,” he explained. He added, “It’s a great sadness that happened to us again and besides I have to miss the penalty kick… I’ve tried a lot already, it hurts me more than anyone that I can’t become champions with Argentina, but it’s like that didn’t happen and unfortunately I’m leaving without being able to get it.”
That moment carried an undeniable weight. The public narrative shifted, not toward a resignation, but toward a turning point in how Messi was seen within the country he had always represented. The tears at the end of a tough night dissolved many questions about belonging and loyalty. The episode helped redefine his identity in the eyes of a nation that had long wrestled with its own expectations of him. In time, the episode was interpreted as a form of ultimate dedication to the cause, a willingness to bear the burden publicly in order to remain true to the sport and to the hopes of a nation.
All along, Messi’s relationship with Argentina had been a vivid portrait of aspiration and struggle. The episode of that night did not erase his Argentine roots or his impact on the sport, but it reshaped how the country perceived the possibility of greatness through him. The public response shifted from disappointment to a broader recognition of the realities of national identity, the sense that belonging is sometimes tested through adversity, not granted by birth alone. In that sense, the moment crystallized an idea: true Argentine identity can emerge from the crucible of failure as much as from triumph.
Ultimately, the night marked by those tears became a defining reference in Messi’s career. It reframed the question of legitimacy and belonging, transforming a painful memory into a marker of national symbolism. The arc of his story, from early records and relentless forward motion to the vulnerability of a difficult moment, demonstrates how sport, national pride, and personal identity intertwine in powerful, lasting ways. The narrative was carried forward by fans and analysts alike, who saw in that night not a resignation from the sport but a turning toward a deeper, more enduring connection with the country that had shaped him and the world he helped to shape.