Crying Messi — Lionel Messi crying in Argentina jersey after Copa America loss

Crying Messi

2016reaction imageclassic

Published August 17, 2026

Crying Messi is a reaction image meme built from a photograph of Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi holding back tears after missing his opening penalty kick against Chile in the 2016 Copa América Centenario Final. The image spread across Twitter and Vine within hours of the June 26, 2016 match, often photoshopped alongside the older Crying Michael Jordan meme.

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Overview

Crying Messi is a photoshop reaction meme built around a still image of Lionel Messi visibly holding back tears after Argentina lost to Chile in the 2016 Copa América Centenario Final on June 26, 20161. The photo shows Messi looking down with a pained, welling-up expression that meme makers seized on within hours of the final whistle2.

Edits typically drop the cropped crying face onto cartoon characters, celebrities, or unrelated scenes of defeat, and many early versions crossed the image over with Crying Michael Jordan, the older NBA-based reaction template it drew immediate comparisons to3. Because Messi is widely treated as one of the top footballers of his generation, the sight of him in tears carried enough emotional weight to power the meme's spread far beyond soccer fandom1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter / Vine (viral spread)
Date
2016

The source moment came during the penalty shootout of the 2016 Copa América Centenario Final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, played between Argentina and Chile1. Messi stepped up for Argentina's opening spot kick and sent the ball flying high over the crossbar, and Argentina went on to lose the shootout 4-2, handing Chile back-to-back Copa titles2.

Cameras caught Messi on the sideline with his eyes filling up as he tried to keep his composure, and that frame started moving on Twitter and Vine within minutes4. Around 11:02 p.m. EST, Twitter user @CurlsandSports posted an edit pasting Crying Michael Jordan's face over a celebrating Messi3. Seven minutes later, ESPN senior writer Arash Markazi tweeted a still of the crying face captioned "Crying Messi Meme," which pulled over 250 likes and 235 retweets in under a day3.

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How It Spread

Within an hour of Markazi's tweet, photoshopped variants filled Twitter feeds across the Americas, and a large share of them mashed the crying face together with Crying Michael Jordan4. On Vine, an account called Arsenal Fan USA uploaded an abridged clip of Messi tearing up that pulled more than 3.8 million loops in roughly 20 hours3. Another Viner, The Cauldron, posted a doctored version of the penalty kick that replaced the football itself with a cutout of Crying Michael Jordan, hitting 1.8 million loops in the same window4.

By the morning of June 27, 2016, mainstream outlets picked the meme up. Russia Today ran a piece titled "Crying Game: Messi Meme erupts online after soccer star's Copa America heartbreak"2. CBS Sports called the image the lasting picture of the tournament and floated it as a possible successor to Crying Jordan1. Mashable, Digital Spy and Hollywood Life all published quick roundups of the top edits the same day567.

The fallout kept the image in rotation for weeks: shortly after the loss, Messi publicly said he was done with the Argentina national team, a retirement he later walked back. Editors kept reaching for the crying frame every time the story got another update4.

How to Use This Meme

The template typically pairs the tight crop of Messi's crying face with any moment of comic loss, sports heartbreak or personal embarrassment. Common conventions include photoshopping the face over rival players, cartoon characters or celebrities, or dropping it into scenes of defeat as a stand-in for the poster's own reaction. Many edits play on the visual link to Crying Michael Jordan by stacking or swapping the two faces.

Frequently Asked Questions