Lionel Messi said on Monday that he will not be playing for Argentina any more, thus bringing the curtains down on one of the greatest international careers of all time. The 39-year-old eight-time Ballon d’Or winner made the announcement in a lengthy statement, which he said that he had prepared two days after the 2026 World Cup final, which Argentina lost to Spain. He further said that he has now made it public in the wake of his father Jorge’s death earlier this month.

“After all this time that has passed since the final, and after much thought, I want to announce to everyone that I am retiring from the National Team…” said Messi in the statement, which he posted on his Instagram account.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates with the trophy after winning the World Cup. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

“It was a decision that hurt, and still hurts, to my core, but I understand that it’s the right time. I swear that I always gave my all, not just in the last few years when we won everything, but before that too. I always fought and gave everything for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you proud to be Argentinian through football.

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“There’s not much time left, and chapters are closing, and this is one that hurts me deeply. I love, loved, and will always love being on the National Team. I’ve given everything I have; I have nothing more to give, and besides, there are some great young players coming up behind me who deserve to be there.”

He ended the statement by saying: “I wrote these words on July 21st, two days after the final. Today, after what happened to my dad, I’m even more convinced than before.”

 

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This is the second time that Messi has announced his international retirement. The first was in the minutes after Argentina’s loss to Chile in the 2016 Copa America Centenario Final. However, Messi reversed that decision and went on to have his most succesfull period with Argentina. He won his first major international trophy when La Albiceleste won the 2021 Copa America. The next year, he played a pivotal role in Argentina’s run to victory in the 2022 World Cup. It ended a nearly four-decade wait for Argentina to win the trophy and Messi became the third Argentinian captain to have led them to victory in the World Cup Daniel Passarella (1978) and Diego Maradona.

Messi had hinted over the course of the campaign that he might end his international career after the tournament. However, he continued playing and went on to win the 2024 Copa America as well. He briefly held the record all-time World Cup goalscorer at this year’s tournament, before it was surpassed by France’s Kylian Mbappe. He also set a new rcord for most assists in World Cup history since the records began in 1966. Messi led Argentina to final once again but this time, they lost 1-0 to Spain in extra time.

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Considered by many as the greatest football player of all time, Messi retires as Argentina’s record highest goalscorer and the player with the most appearances for the national team, both by some distance. He has scored 125 goals in 207 appearances. The next best goalscorer in the country’s history is Gabriel Batistuta who scored 56. Former midfielder Javier Mascherano is second to Messi’s international cap record with 147 appearances.

Messi was eligible to play for both Argentina and Spain, having moved to the latter country at the age of 13. He has stated in the years since that he never had any doubts about choosing to play for Argentina. Messi led the Argentinian U20 team to victory in the 2005 FIFA Youth World Championship and later made his senior debut at the age of 18 on August 17, 2005 in a friendly against Hungary. He came on as a 63rd minute substitute, only to be handed a red card and sent off just two minutes later. He then returned to the national team on September 3 that year but his first international goal came over a year later on March 1, 2006 in a friendly against Croatia.