Visuals of Lionel Messi in tears during Argentina's Copa America final against Colombia soon turned into jubilation when Lautaro Martinez struck the winning goal for the world champions, which made an injured Messi get up from the bench and celebrate near the dugout even while limping, followed by his teammates hugging him emotionally.
Argentina successfully defended their Copa America title with a 1-0 victory in the end, after the regulation period ended goalless at the packed Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Messi's emotional celebration of Martinez's goal, which has gone viral on social media, saw him watching proceedings anxiously as Argentina moved forward in attack that resulted in the goal and sealed the final in favour of the defending champions.
Some of the teammates then ran to their skipper and hugged him.
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Earlier, the Argentina legend and World Cup winner Messi couldn't hold back his tears after he suffered a leg injury in the second half of the match and had to be substituted.
The incident happened during the 64th minute of the match when Messi, while sprinting at full speed, suddenly stopped and immediately signalled to the dugout seeking medical attention.
He eventually walked out of the field after taking his right shoe off and was later seen crying uncontrollably in the dugout.
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As soon as the visuals of Messi crying came on the giant screen inside the stadium, the Argentina fans started screaming to cheer up their champion.
It followed the image of Messi's swollen ankle making its way to the social media platforms.
The severity of Messi's injury is not clear yet.
