Messi’s team talk before the 2026 World Cup final sparked theories online. Journalist Eduardo Feinmann relayed claims that Messi’s call to 'forget everything' was linked to rumours circulating before the match, although this has not been confirmed.
One day after the 2026 World Cup final, in which in which Argentina lost to Spain and finished and finished as runners-up, a video filmed moments before the team walked out onto the pitch at MetLife Stadium started to go viral. The footage shows the players gathered in the dressing room while Lionel Messi tries to instil calm ahead of the game.
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"Calm, let’s stay calm, lads, let’s think about playing, nothing else. Stay calm. Let’s forget about everything, let’s forget about everything. Let’s focus on playing," the captain can be heard saying in a pep talk whose tone caught fans' attention.
Many users pointed out that the squad looked more serious than usual, with worried expressions and a mood very different from what they had shown throughout the rest of the tournament.
The video sparked all kinds of interpretations on social media.
"As someone who’s not into conspiracy theories at all, I think this pep talk from Messi is really strange and completely anticlimactic. The worried faces and the low energy. This Argentina side isn’t like that. Unsettling," one user wrote on X.
Another added: "Everyone is focusing on the sentence. Yes, it’s odd, but the worst thing is something else: the faces, the body language. Flat, lifeless, beaten. I’m not even talking about anything external, but something was going on with a large part of the team."
Some users also recalled Lionel Scaloni’s remarks after the final, when the coach said there had been incidents before the match, although he declined to give details "out of respect for the tournament". The comment fuelled further speculation about a possible incident in the build-up to the game.
Among the theories circulating were unsubstantiated claims alleging that the match had been fixed, although none has been backed by evidence or official sources.
As the hours passed, another version emerged that sought to explain Messi’s striking message.
Journalist Eduardo Feinmann said that, before the World Cup final in New Jersey kicked off, a rumour began to spread that FBI agents were at the stadium intending to arrest AFA president Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia.
According to Feinmann, the rumour caused unease within the Argentine delegation and also reached the players.
"I think some things are going to start coming out," said the host of El Noticiero, who also claimed that Tapia is facing legal investigations in Argentina and the United States.
Under that theory, Messi’s call to "forget about everything" and focus solely on playing may have been linked to the rumours circulating in the hours leading up to the match. However, this explanation has not been confirmed by the AFA or any member of the squad.
So far, neither Lionel Messi, Lionel Scaloni nor any other members of the Argentine delegation have publicly explained what the captain was referring to when he asked the team to leave "everything" behind before going out to play the final.
In the meantime, the video continues to fuel debate among fans and speculation about what happened in the moments leading up to the match.