Watch: Lionel Messi’s amusing goodnight message to his children during FIFA Awards speech leaves everyone in splits

Messi was adjudged as the best player in the World Cup, finishing the tournament with seven goals and three assists in seven games. He was one of the only three Argentine players to play in every single minute of the campaign, 690 minutes in total after two matches went into extra-time. During the tournament, he registered 347 passes, five tackles and 32 shots. His Argentine teammate Emiliano Martinez received the best men’s goalkeeper award of 2022. Meanwhile, manager Lionel Scaloni was named as the Best Men’s Coach.

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For the ceremony, Messi was accompanied by wife Antonela Roccuzzo, and his children stayed back at home. After receiving the award, Messi had an amusing message for his children, which left everyone in splits. He said, “Winning the World Cup is the most beautiful thing that has happened in my career. It’s a dream for many, but few can win it. I want to thank my family, the people of Argentina, as it will remain in our memories forever. I want to send a kiss to my children, who are watching this, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, I love you. Now, go to bed!”

“This is an honour for me. I want to thank my colleagues, including my manager Scaloni, and we’re here representing them all, as we would not be here without them. It recognises the role they played in what they achieved. It’s been a crazy year for me. I have achieved my dream, after so much fighting and so much determination to win it”, he added.

Here is the video:

Argentina sealed a 4-2 win against France in penalties in the final, after the match ended in a 3-3 draw after extra-time. In a closely-fought final, the CONMEBOL side first took the lead in the 23rd-minute through captain Messi, who converted a penalty after Angel Di Maria was fouled in the French box. After that, a quick counter-attack in the 36th-minute saw Alexis MacAllister assist Di Maria, who made it 2-0.

With Argentina cruising to an easy win, Kylian Mbappe came to France’s rescue and staged a comeback. Mbappe levelled proceedings within 97 seconds, scoring a penalty in the 80th-minute after Kolo Muani was brought down in the Argentine box. Then in the 81st-minute, Mbappe made it 2-2 with a stunning volley.

In extra-time, Messi made it 3-2 for Argentina in the 108th-minute, scoring after some poor defending. But Mbappe once again came to his side’s rescue in the 118th-minute to make it 3-3. In what turned out to be a nerve-wracking penalty shootout, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez came out on top to deny Aurelien Tchouameni and Kingsley Coman as Argentina sealed a 4-2 victory.