Messi makes peace with World Cup final loss to Spain: "Only one team can win"

Some losses sting for years, while others, with time, become easier to see in a different light. The final lost to Spain at the 2026 World Cup, decided in extra time, seems to have fallen into that second category for Lionel Messi. At least that's the impression he gave in Oviedo, Spain, where he will receive the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports on Friday night.

At 39 and now retired from the national team, Messi reflected on that recent blow and, along the way, looked back on two full decades wearing the sky blue and white. There was no regret or excuses, just an almost philosophical take on the business of competing.

In soccer, winning is very hard, and you have to value the journey, because only one team can win. That happened to us in the final against Spain and in the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil. That's why what matters is being competitive and giving everything to win, even if you can't; having competed all the way to the goal and feeling satisfied because you gave it your all, regardless of the result.Lionel Messi

The comparison isn't random. That 1-0 extra-time loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final was the first in a painful streak: three major finals lost in just three years. The cycle was finally broken with the 2021 Copa America, Messi's first major title with the Albiceleste. The 2022 Qatar World Cup and a second Copa America would follow, but before that turning point there was plenty of heartbreak to work through.

Messi doesn't dance around it: those defeats left something useful behind. "There are very positive things to take from it. To improve, you have to accept mistakes and try to fix them. It's important to know how to win and know how to lose," he explained, going on to recall an uncomfortable truth about the sport he plays: in soccer, you lose more than you win.

Closing out a career with staggering numbers

Argentina's all-time captain played his final match with the national team earlier this month, closing out two decades of work with a number that says it all: 126 goals in 208 appearances. An eight-time Ballon d'Or winner with 20 years at Barcelona after arriving from Argentina as little more than a teenager, Messi also allowed himself to think about how he'd like to be remembered.

Rather than focusing on titles or stats, he chose a different idea: that of someone who never gave up, win or lose. "Sometimes it went well for me, sometimes it didn't, but I never stopped trying to win everything in front of me," he told EFE.

He also had words for those who never got the same chances he did. "There's a lot of talented people who fall by the wayside for lack of opportunities," he admitted, aware of the privilege his own path represented.

There was also a more personal chapter: that of his father and agent, Jorge, who passed away in August. From him, Messi says he inherited a lesson that shaped the way he played.

Grab the ball and try something, whether it works out or not, don't stop to dwell on it, because there was always another play to attempt.Lionel Messi

That line, almost a summary of his entire career, is what Messi carries with him to Oviedo just before stepping onto the stage to receive an award that in some way crowns that whole journey, built from finals won, finals lost, and the persistence to try just once more.