Thousands of fans braved the cold and rain Monday to give a rapturous welcome to the Argentine football squad who landed back home without star Lionel Messi, after their World Cup final loss to Spain. FIFA is investigating the Argentine team after players held up a banner bearing the phrase after their win against England which sparked a backlash from London. Messi wrote on Instagram on Monday that "the pain is immense and it's going to take a long time for this wound to heal." "Today it's hard to appreciate what we achieved, but this squad reached two consecutive World Cup finals." AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementWith the tournament over, President Javier Milei announced that a future date agreed with the team would be set as a public holiday to celebrate their performance in the World Cup.