10 Emotional Tributes From Teammates and World Leaders to Lionel Messis Argentina Retirement

Lionel Messi’s announcement that he is retiring from Argentina’s national team after 21 years drew an immediate wave of tributes Monday from teammates, world leaders and figures across the sport, with many describing the moment as the end of an era in Argentine and world soccer.

Messi, 39, revealed his decision in an emotional Instagram post, writing that he had made up his mind two days after Argentina’s 1-0 extra-time loss to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final, though he chose to keep the announcement private until after the death of his father, Jorge Messi, on Aug. 8. Here are 10 of the reactions that followed.

1. David Beckham, the former England captain who owns Inter Miami alongside Messi’s club team, kept his response brief, posting three Argentina-colored heart emojis in reply to Messi’s announcement, according to Yahoo Sports.
2. Rodrigo De Paul, Messi’s Argentina and Inter Miami teammate, wrote a message of pure gratitude in the comments of Messi’s post. “Just thank you, the greatest of all time, thank you for making us so, so happy, you can’t imagine how many smiles you brought!!” De Paul wrote, according to AFP.
3. Angel Di Maria, who won the 2022 World Cup alongside Messi before retiring from international duty himself, focused on Messi’s choice to represent his country despite his global stature. “We will be grateful to you for the rest of our lives for being Argentine, for taking Argentina to the top of the world, and for choosing to be Argentine when you could easily have chosen something else. Thank you, Captain. Thank you for everything. The greatest in history,” Di Maria wrote, in comments translated from Spanish and reported by Yahoo Sports.
4. Antonela Roccuzzo, Messi’s wife, shared a personal tribute to her husband’s perseverance. “I saw you keep going when things didn’t work out and always try again. And after so many years, I was also lucky enough to see you fulfill your dreams and live some of the happiest days of our lives. You deserved this story and so much more. We love you infinitely,” she wrote in Spanish, according to ESPN.
5. Argentina President Javier Milei offered a characteristically blunt message of thanks on Instagram. “Thank you very much, impossible man,” Milei wrote, according to ESPN, with the second half of the message written in all capital letters in the original Spanish post.
6. FIFA President Gianni Infantino praised Messi’s broader impact on the sport, describing his international career as “extraordinary” and crediting him with having “inspired millions of people and redefined our sport,” according to a statement reported by outlets including a Kansas City television station affiliate.
7. Gary Lineker, the former England striker and prominent soccer broadcaster, framed Messi’s role for Argentina in terms extending well beyond the sport itself. “You didn’t just play for Argentina, you carried their hopes, dreams and expectations for two decades,” Lineker wrote, according to ESPN.
8. Claudio Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association, delivered one of the more evocative tributes among federation officials, according to a report from Reuters cited by ClutchPoints. Tapia called Messi “the captain of our dreams,” adding, “that kid, ‘La Pulga’, that alien… made us believe in magic. The Argentina national team shirt is your flag. And our people’s love for you will last forever.”
9. Enzo Fernandez, who reached two World Cup finals alongside Messi, reflected on the emotional throughline of Messi’s international career, referencing his own reaction as a teenager when Messi first announced a national team retirement back in 2016. “Leo, when you said you were leaving the national team back then, I was really sad,” Fernandez wrote, according to Sports Illustrated.
10. Lisandro Martinez, another current Argentina teammate, posted an emotional video reaction to Messi’s retirement that circulated widely on social media, according to a report from the Deseret News, which noted that a separate teammate remarked that “nothing ever prepares you for these moments.”

The outpouring of tributes reflects the scale of Messi’s international legacy. He finishes his Argentina career with 125 goals in 207 appearances, making him the country’s all-time leading scorer and placing him second only to longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 146 international goals and has not yet announced his own retirement from Portugal duty, among men’s international scorers worldwide. Messi led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title in Qatar and briefly held the record for most career World Cup goals during this summer’s tournament, before finishing one goal behind France’s Kylian Mbappe in that particular tally.