Lionel Messi has revealed that the tears he shed after scoring for Argentina at the World Cup in Kansas City on Saturday were triggered by private 'difficult days' and a matter 'completely unrelated to football,' even as he delivered a record-breaking hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria.
The 38-year-old captain was making his 200th appearance for Argentina in their opening match of their World Cup defence. He curled home a trademark left-footed strike after 18 minutes, lit up the stadium, then suddenly seemed overwhelmed. Team-mates piled in, the crowd roared, and amid the chaos cameras caught Messi wiping his face with his shirt, clearly emotional in a way that went beyond the usual adrenaline of a big tournament goal.
