New Delhi: Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football on Monday, bringing an end to a 21-year Argentina career that took him from repeated heartbreak to the 2022 World Cup title. The 39-year-old said in a lengthy Instagram post that he had spent weeks considering the decision after Argentina lost the 2026 World Cup final 1-0 to Spain on July 19. “It was a decision that hurt - and still hurts deep down - but I understand that the time has come,” Messi wrote. That final against Spain will now stand as his last appearance for Argentina. Messi retires as his country’s most-capped player and highest goalscorer, with 207 appearances and 125 goals since making his senior debut in 2005. His retirement applies to international football. Messi continues to play club football for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer. Decision made after World Cup final Messi revealed that he had written his farewell statement on July 21, two days after Argentina failed to defend their World Cup title against Spain. He held it back at the time. The death of his father and longtime representative Jorge Messi on August 8 strengthened his decision, Messi said while finally publishing the message. Jorge Messi died in Rosario at the age of 68 after a long illness. Messi said he felt he had given everything he could to Argentina and that younger players now deserved their opportunity. He thanked supporters, teammates, coaches, officials and his family, and said he would now follow Argentina as another fan. The announcement comes barely six weeks after Messi led Argentina into a second consecutive World Cup final. At 39, he remained central to Argentina’s 2026 campaign, scoring eight goals and providing four assists as the defending champions reached the final before losing to Spain. From a nightmare debut to Argentina’s greatest run Messi’s Argentina career had an unusual beginning. He made his senior debut against Hungary in Budapest on August 17, 2005, aged 18, but was sent off less than a minute after coming on as a substitute. What followed was one of the longest and most decorated international careers in football. For years, however, success with Argentina remained the one major gap in a career already filled with trophies at Barcelona. Argentina lost the 2007 Copa America final, the 2014 World Cup final to Germany and consecutive Copa America finals against Chile in 2015 and 2016. The 2016 defeat pushed Messi to announce his first international retirement. That decision lasted less than two months. He returned to the national team in August 2016, saying his love for Argentina was too strong for him to stay away. The comeback eventually changed the entire narrative around his international career. Messi captained Argentina to the 2021 Copa America, ending the country’s long wait for a major senior international trophy. Argentina then beat European champions Italy to win the 2022 Finalissima before Messi led his country to the prize that had eluded him throughout his career: the FIFA World Cup. Argentina defeated France on penalties in the 2022 final in Qatar, with Messi scoring twice in the match and converting in the shootout. Two years later, Argentina retained the Copa America in 2024, giving Messi another major title with the national team. His Argentina honours also include Olympic gold at Beijing 2008 and the 2005 Under-20 World Cup. Six World Cups, three finals Messi played at six World Cups between 2006 and 2026. He reached the final three times: losing to Germany in 2014, beating France in 2022 and finishing runner-up to Spain in 2026. The 2026 tournament reinforced his longevity. Twenty years after his first World Cup appearance, he remained Argentina’s captain and attacking leader at the age of 39. The Argentina Football Association responded to his retirement with a tribute thanking the player who had led the national team through its most successful period in decades. Messi’s departure also marks the end of a relationship with the Argentina shirt that was not always comfortable. For much of his early career, his extraordinary success with Barcelona was contrasted with Argentina’s failures in major finals. The criticism reached its peak after the 2016 Copa America defeat. By the time he leaves, that argument has disappeared. Messi retires with a World Cup, two Copa America titles and Argentina’s records for both appearances and goals. Unlike 2016, there is little indication that this announcement is intended as a temporary break. Messi said the chapter had reached its end and that the next generation deserved its place.
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