Crying Messi becomes a meme after critical Copa miss
It was quite a fall for Lionel Messi on Sunday night, as the Argentina star went from GOAT to goat after his first-ever penalty shootout miss, paving the way for Chile to win the Copa America championship.
And, in the emotional aftermath of a heartbreaking loss, the world's greatest soccer player joined the growing list of crying athlete memes.
After the two South American rivals played a scoreless 90 minutes, they finished two 15-minute periods without a goal, pushing the championship match to a penalty kick shootout.
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On Argentina's first PK, Messi skied his shot over the crossbar.
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While his team would score two goals in penalties, Chile netted 4, securing the match and the championship.
After the match was complete, cameras caught an emotional Messi in tears and Twitter does what Twitter does and inducted Messi alongside Michael Jordan and Lebron James into the pantheon of great crying athletes.
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And, in case you were wondering, yes, someone "Crying Jordaned" Messi.
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At a press conference after the tears and memes, an upset Messi hinted at his retirement.
"My thinking right now and thinking about it in the locker room, I'm done playing with the national team," Messi said following the match, according to ESPN.
"I tried my hardest. It's been four finals and I was not able to win. I tried everything possible; it hurts me more than anyone, but it is evident that this is not for me. I want more than anyone to win a title with the national team, but unfortunately it did not happen."
Yeah Twitter, it hurts him more than anyone else.
UPDATE: June 27, 2016, 2:17 a.m. ET: Messi hints at his retirement after the match.
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Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.
