A video of Lionel Messi consulting his teammates moments before the 2026 FIFA World Cup final has gone viral across social media, fueling widespread speculation and reigniting conspiracy theories surrounding the tournament.
The 2022 champions produced one of their most shocking performances of the tournament. Argentina failed to register a single shot on target throughout the entire game, with Messi being completely subdued. Now, a pre-match video making the rounds on social media platforms appears to depict Argentina players distraught as if they knew the game would not end well for them.
The footage, which has been shared millions of times across platforms including X, shows Messi addressing the squad in the dressing room before kick-off. With several players visibly emotional, including midfielder Enzo Fernández, the Argentina captain urges his teammates to remain calm before telling them to “forget everything.”
Those few words have become the center of an intense online debate.
“This doesn’t even sound like a conspiracy anymore. Something clearly happened behind the scenes before the World Cup Final. Too many things don’t add up,” one commenter said.
Another one remarked: “Argentina produced one of their most lifeless, disconnected performances under Scaloni, Argentina can lose to Spain, Spain is an exceptional team, but Argentina do not suddenly forget how to press, compete and suffer together especially in a World Cup final, maybe we will never know what was said behind those doors, but those faces, Messi’s words and the performance that followed make it feel like something much bigger happened before kick-off.”
However, there is currently no evidence supporting those claims.
Neither Messi nor any member of Argentina’s coaching staff has publicly explained what the phrase “forget everything” specifically referred to. Likewise, FIFA has not commented on the viral speculation, and no credible reports have emerged indicating that Argentina encountered any extraordinary circumstances before the final.
