Messi completed his fairytale inside the Lusail Stadium to be sitting on top of the world for the first time, denying France the chance to defend their 2018 crown.
It was complete madness as the match headed into the agony of a penalty shoot-out.
In a truly bonkers World Cup final, both teams came close to finding the winner in the added time beyond the 120th minute, but the match headed into the shoot-out locked at 3-3.
Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his side's opening goal. Photo / AP
It was end to end in the final frantic minutes and Argentina needed a brilliant leg save by keeper Emiliano Martínez to stop Kolo Muani from scoring a winner in the dying seconds.
Messi appeared to have his magic moment when he scored in extra time, but it was wiped out when Kylian Mbappe scored his third goal in the 118th minute.
It was the French freak’s eighth goal of the tournament and it secured him the golden boot by going one ahead of Messi.
Having missed out on the golden boot, Messi was called up onto the stage moments later when he was awarded the golden ball as the player of the tournament. He is the only player to win the Golden Ball twice.
The win completes the 35-year-old’s glorious career and he joins Diego Maradona as a god-like figure in the South American country.
The match was turned on its head earlier with France scoring two late goals in the space of 97 seconds.
Argentina looked minutes away a Lionel Messi fairytale before Kylian Mbappe popped up from nowhere to tie it up 2-2 in the 81st minute.
It was a simply stunning turnaround after Argentina had blown their opposition away with two goals in the first half.
It looked like France was at breaking point when manager Didier Deschamps made two shock substitutions before half time, dragging Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Demebele from the pitch.
Argentina continued to dominate for most of the second half, but everything changed when Argentina suddenly fell asleep with the finish line in sight.
The insanity was best shown by the fact France had only registered two shots on target in the first 82 minutes — the two goals they scored.
France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his side's second goal. Photo / AP
Sky Sports’ Adam Bate said: “This has turned into one of the greatest ever World Cup finals”.
It got even more epic when Messi scored in the 108th minute.
Mbappe then followed it up by becoming the second player to ever score a hat-trick in a World Cup final — becoming the first player since England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966 to do it.
English legend Gary Lineker tweeted: “In your life have you ever seen a game of football like that, let alone a World Cup final?
“This final is beyond belief.”
The drama reached a crescendo in the shoot-out with France missing two of the team’s first three penalties.
Mbappe and Messi both slotted their opening penalties to have the shoot-out at 1-1.
However, France fell to the pressure from there and it was all over when Gonzalo Montiel rolled in the deciding penalty to give Argentina their third World Cup and prevent France becoming the first team in 60 years to retain the trophy.
There were tears from both teams at full time — and Messi was also spotted looking overcome with emotion as he walked to one section of the stadium by himself to thank somebody in the crowd.
Commentators were completely flabbergasted by the spectacle.
A stunned Tyler said: “What a fairytale, what a final.
“It is the cruellest of ways to lose. But it has to be decided somehow. And the drama is unequivocal. And the scenes of joy on one side compared to the scenes of desperation on the other side. Well, Messi saluted around the globe. This is the holy grail. The genius has got the medal he chased for five tournaments.
“Forever this will be the Messi World Cup.”
Former England midfielder Jermaine Jenas said on BBC radio: “I can’t get my head around what I have just witnessed as a game. One of the greatest moments in footballing history.”
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinad also said: “We’ll never see anything like this again. I can’t imagine that happening. Where you see two great teams going toe to toe, no-one takes a back step. The two superstars on either team again slugging it out, goal for goal. Magnificent.”
