Raising his 45th trophy.. Messi continues to break records on the night of the Copa America coronation

Defending champions Argentina won the Copa America for a record 16th time, beating Colombia 1-0 thanks to a late extra-time goal from substitute Lautaro Martinez in the 112th minute.

The 37-year-old Argentina captain lifted the 45th trophy of his career, a record among the most famous football players in the history of the world.

For Messi, this Copa America title was the second in his career.

This is the fifth Copa America final that Messi has played in his football career, setting a record as the player who has played the most final matches in the history of the oldest and most prestigious international competition at the national team level in the world, following he had shared it with his retired compatriot Javier Mascherano, who participated in 4 finals.
Messi participated in the final matches of the 2007, 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2024 editions of the tournament.

In the current edition of the Copa America, Messi has become the player with the most matches in the history of the competition, with 39 matches, and he has also become the second player to score in 6 different editions of the tournament.

Messi scored a goal in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Canada in the semi-finals of the tournament, repeating the achievement of the late Brazilian Zizinho, who managed to score in 6 editions of the tournament, the first of which was launched in 1916.

The match that saw Argentina crowned as “Copa America 2024” champions witnessed Messi suffering a severe injury as he left the match in the 64th minute, bursting into tears, and was replaced by Nicolas Gonzalez.

Source: RT+Agencies