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Lionel Messi Bawled on Argentina's Bench After Leaving Copa America Final With Injury

Andy Nesbitt

The great Lionel Messi entered Sunday night's Copa America final against Colombia hoping he could add to his legendary legacy by leading his country's national team to a third consecutive major trophy win following Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory and 2021 Copa America championship.

Instead, he had to come out of a 0–0 game in the 65th minute due to an ankle injury. This was not how the 37-year-old wanted to leave his teammates in a huge match—in what could possibly be his final major championship—and he was quickly overcome with emotion after taking a seat on the bench.

Fox's cameras caught Messi sobbing as the moment hit him:

Here was the scene as Messi was subbed out of the game:

Messi's ankle did not look good at all:

Argentina later took a 1–0 lead in extra time and held on to win their second straight Copa America title.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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