Lionel Messi announces retirement from international football
The Argentine football legend has announced his retirement from international play.
Lionel Messi 's international football journey has now come to an end. The Argentine superstar announced his retirement from international football on Monday, marking the conclusion of his illustrious career with the Argentina team.
Regarded as one of the greatest players in football history, Messi had hoped to lead Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup title this year. However, Argentina faced a 1-0 defeat against Spain in the final after extra time.
The 39-year-old Messi announced his retirement on social media. He acknowledged that this decision pains him deeply, but he knows that the right time to say goodbye has come.
Messi played 207 matches for Argentina, scoring 125 goals. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner announced this in a lengthy statement. He revealed that he had prepared this statement just two days after the 2026 World Cup final, in which Argentina suffered a defeat against Spain. Messi stated that he decided to make it public after the passing of his father, Jorge, earlier this month.
In his statement posted on Instagram, Messi said,
“It has been a long time since the FIFA World Cup final, and after much thought, I want to inform everyone that I am retiring from the Argentina national team.”
He further added,
“This was a decision that hurt me deeply and still does, but I understand that this is the right time. I swear that I have always given my all, not just in the last few years when we won everything, but even before that. I have always fought for this jersey and given everything so that you feel happy and proud to be Argentine through football.”
“There is not much time left, and some chapters are coming to an end. This is also such a chapter, which deeply saddens me. I love playing for the national team, I loved it, and I will always love it. I have given my all. Now I have nothing more to give. Some great young players are coming up who deserve a place in the national team.”
Messi concluded his statement with,
“I wrote these words on July 21, two days after the final. Today, after what happened with my father, I am even more convinced.”
This is the second time Messi has announced his retirement from international football. Previously, he had announced his retirement just minutes after Argentina's defeat to Chile in the final of the 2016 Copa America Centenario. However, Messi later reversed his decision and became part of the most successful phase of his career with Argentina.
Messi won his first major international title with Argentina at the 2021 Copa America. The following year, he played a crucial role in Argentina's title victory at the 2022 World Cup. This win ended Argentina's nearly four-decade wait for a World Cup title. Messi became the third captain of Argentina to win the World Cup, following Daniel Passarella in 1978 and Diego Maradona in 1986. During this campaign, Messi had hinted several times that he might end his international career after the tournament. However, he continued to play and also won the 2024 Copa America.
In this year's World Cup, Messi briefly held the record for the most goals scored in World Cup history, but later France's Kylian Mbappe surpassed him. He also set a new record for the most assists in World Cup history since records began in 1966.
Messi once again led Argentina to the World Cup final, but this time the team faced a 1-0 defeat against Spain in extra time.
Considered by many to be the greatest player in football history, Messi retires as Argentina's all-time leading goal scorer and most-capped player. He holds a significant lead in both records, having scored 125 goals in 207 matches for Argentina. The second-highest goal scorer in the country's history is Gabriel Batistuta, who scored 56 goals. Meanwhile, the record for the most matches played after Messi in international matches belongs to former midfielder Javier Mascherano, who played 147 matches.
Messi was eligible to play for both Argentina and Spain, as he moved to Spain at the age of 13. However, in later years, he stated multiple times that he never had any doubt about his decision to play for Argentina.
Messi led Argentina's under-20 team to the FIFA Youth World Championship title in 2005. He then made his debut for the senior team on August 17, 2005, against Hungary in a friendly match at the age of 18. He came on in the 63rd minute but was sent off just two minutes later with a red card.
Messi returned to the national team on September 3, 2005. However, his first international goal came more than a year later on March 1, 2006, in a friendly match against Croatia.