New footage reveals Messi's emotional words moments before Argentina won World Cup

Fresh details are still emerging from Argentina’s historic World Cup win over France, with newly unearthed footage capturing Lionel Messi seconds before the final result.

Messi led his country to the biggest prize in the sport last month, capping off an incredible career and essentially completing football by adding to his already huge trophy haul.

A video has now been shared online which shows the moment just before his teammate Gonzalo Montiel walked up to take the final penalty.

It shows the 35-year-old looking up to the sky and appearing to say the words “Puede ser hoy, abu,” which translates as “It could be today, grandma”.

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He then drops to his knees as the winning penalty is scored, securing the win and bringing the World Cup to Argentina for the third time.

Messi’s grandmother, Celia Olivera Cuccittini, played a huge role in Messi’s early years and fledgling career before her death in 1998.

She was a supportive presence in his life and the PSG star previously spoke about how she persuaded his first coaches to let him play the game.

“I was small, we would all go to the neighbourhood club to where the whole family always went; my brother and cousins would all play, each in their respective category as we were all of different ages,” he previously told Argentine publication Diario Ole.

The touching moment sparked a big reaction on social mediaTwitter/Getty

“I was one of the youngest ones and therefore there were no categories for me yet, but one of them was missing a player and so my grandmother told the manager 'to let me play,' to which the manager replied, ‘How can we let him play? He is too small, he cannot play.’”

Messi added: “Despite this, my grandmother still insisted ‘let him play, let him play.’ She was very much loved by everyone at the club and continued to demand I be put in until they did. I scored two goals although truthfully, I do not remember much as I was quite young, but that is the story as my grandmother used to tell it.”

The video adds another dimension to Messi’s World Cup journey, and it sparked a big reaction among fans on social media.

One wrote: “His Grandma is the main reason why he became a football player.”

Another said: “Every time I watch this I get tears in my eyes.”

One more added: “Messi loves his [grandma], we all love his grandma more than him. Without his [grandma] he wouldn't have played football and we couldn't enjoyed the football like we do today.”

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