Ex-Manchester United and France defender Patrice Evra has revealed that Lionel Messi and Argentina made him cry after the 2022 World Cup final.
The final in Qatar between Argentina and France will go down as one of the most pulsating finals in World Cup history.
A Messi-led Argentina side raced to a 2-0 lead before two late Kylian Mbappe goals sent the tie to extra time.
Messi then netted with 108 minutes on the clock but his Paris Saint Germain teammate Mbappe was there to deny him once again after scoring with two minutes to go.
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Eventually, Messi had his fairytale ending as Argentina came away 4-2 winners in the penalty shootout.
Now, Frenchman Evra has revealed that he was in tears after the final whistle.
Speaking to French media outlet RMC, Evra said: “I watched the match live and I cried.
“I did not expect it. France-Argentina, I tell you the truth, I went to my car and I cried. For three days I was in pain.”
The former United man added: “And I said to myself 'Patrice, I know you love the France team'... but it hurt me so much.
“And then, frankly, hats off to the France team.”
Evra also spoke about Mbappe’s performance on the night.
He said: “Kylian [Mbappe] scores a hat-trick. You score a hat-trick, three goals in the final and you don't win the final. You see it was incredible!
“And even this match, how did it go with two to zero. I said to myself 'that's it'.
“What was going on… It was catastrophic. And you come back, boom two by two. And then after you lose. There was too much emotion, too much emotion.”
During their first matches since the final in Qatar, both France and Argentina tasted victories.
France thrashed the Netherlands 4-0 before winning 1-0 against the Republic of Ireland. Whilst Argentina beat Panama 2-0 before putting seven goals past Curacao.
The game against Curacao saw Messi break through the 100-goal mark for Argentina after scoring a first-half hattrick.
Topics: France, Argentina, Lionel Messi, Patrice Evra, Manchester United, Football, Football World Cup
Marcus Chan