JAKARTA - Lionel Messi dedicated Argentina's success in winning the Copa America after beating Brazil to his family, his country, and his idol, the late Diego Maradona.
"I want to dedicate this success to my family, who have always given me the strength to keep going, to my friends who I love so much, to everyone who supports us, and especially to the 45 million Argentineans who are suffering from this terrible virus," wrote Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi on Instagram.
Argentina is approaching its COVID-19 death toll of 100,000 and weeks before the start of the Copa Buenos Aires tournament, it refused to co-host with Colombia as cases of the pandemic soared.
South American confederation CONMEBOL finally transferred the hosting rights to Brazil at the last minute despite more than half a million of the country's citizens have died from the virus making it the second-highest in the world after the United States.
Messi, 34, also paid tribute to Maradona, who died at the age of 60 last November, saying "Diego will definitely cheer for us wherever he is".
Argentina's success over Brazil in Rio was not only Messi's first major trophy for the Albiceleste but his country's first continental trophy in 28 years.
Messi has desperately led the team to glory after a series of disappointments in both the World Cup and Copa.
Given that they are battling the spread of COVID-19, Argentina did not host any celebrations for their Copa triumph.
After arriving back in the country on Sunday, the squad was briefly received at the headquarters of the country's football federation to be disbanded during the pre-season break.
Despite the modest welcome, thousands of fans took to the streets despite strict COVID-19 restrictions.
"In order to continue partying, we must continue to take care of each other, don't forget we still have a long way to go to get back to normal," warned Messi.
"Use this happiness to gather strength in fighting this virus together."
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