Lionel Messi celebrates Argentina's Copa America win with profanity-laced Instagram post

Kieran Francis

Lionel Messi celebrates Argentina's Copa America win with profanity-laced Instagram post image

Lionel Messi celebrated Argentina's triumph in the Copa America final Saturday with a profane Instagram post.

Argentina won its 15th Copa America title — and its first since 1993 — with a 1-0 victory over host and archrival Brazil in Rio de Janeiro.

The victory was an emotion-charged experience for Messi, who claimed his first international trophy in his fifth final with his nation. In an Instagram post of him posing with the Copa America trophy after the match, Messi expressed his feelings about winning the tournament, writing in Spanish: "We are the champions, the c— of your mother."

COPA AMERICA: Highlights, updates from Argentina's win

Messi had a huge influence on Argentina winning the Copa America, collecting the player of the tournament award alongside Brazil's Neymar and winning the Golden Boot with four goals, including free kicks against Chile and Ecuador.

The next step for Messi will be confirming his club future, with the superstar currently a free agent after his contract with Barcelona expired at the start of the month.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims "everything is on track" as he expresses his optimism that Messi, who has been linked with the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, will be staying put.

Barca is desperate for its captain and talisman to commit to a new contract that would see him add to the 21 years he has already spent in Spain with the Catalan giants.

Laporta and his most trusted executives, Ferran Reverter and Mateu Alemany, have been working on a two-year extension for Messi, although financial issues continue to keep significant progress from being made on a deal.

It has been revealed that the Liga giants are €1.2 billion (£1.1 billion/$1.5 billion) in debt, which is making life difficult when it comes to negotiating new contracts and getting fresh faces on board.

The main issue with the Messi contract, however, is the salary limit that has been imposed on Barca by La Liga, which makes it impossible for the club to agree to a deal with the 34-year-old that is in line with his expectations.

Kieran Francis

Kieran Francis Photo

Kieran Francis is a senior editor at The Sporting News based in Melbourne, Australia. He started at Sportal.com.au before being a part of the transition to Sporting News in 2015. Just prior to the 2018 World Cup, he was appointed chief editor of Goal.com in Australia. He has now returned to The Sporting News where his passions lay in football, AFL, poker and cricket - when he is not on holiday.