Lionel Messi announces international retirement

Argentina legend Lionel Messi announced his international retirement on Monday.

The 39-year-old, widely considered the greatest football player of all time, won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with Argentina, bringing the title back to the country for the first time since 1986.

The 2026 World Cup, Messi’s last appearance in the world’s most well-known footballing competition, ended in disappointment for Argentina after defeat to Spain in the final.

Despite being past his prime, the Argentina captain was the second most prolific goalscorer of the 2026 World Cup with eight goals, only being edged out by France’s Kylian Mbappe with ten.

Messi is also second in the World Cup’s all-time goalscorer list, where he is one goal behind Mbappe, with both overtaking Germany striker Miroslav Klose’s 16 goals during the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Retirement comes at ‘right time’

“It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep in my soul,” Messi posted on his Instagram account, adding that he wrote his international retirement message two days after the World Cup final defeat to Spain.

“But I understand that it is the right time,” he added.

Messi said he “always gave everything, not just in the last few years,” and that he wanted to bring Argentina fans joy ​and make them “feel proud to be ​Argentine through football.”

“I leave with the peace of mind and pride of having given you — alongside my teammates — moments we once only dreamed of,” he wrote, before concluding with “Vamos, Argentina!”

“I leave with the peace ​of mind ⁠and pride of having given you — alongside my ⁠teammates — ​moments we once only dreamed of,” he added.

Miami contract until 2028

Messi is his country’s most capped player with 207 appearances, in which he scored 125 goals, another all-time record. 

With Messi as captain, Argentina also won the Copa America in 2021 and 2024.

His club career will continue at current club Inter Miami, where he has a contract until the end of the 2028 MLS season, although he did voice “serious doubts” about continuing to play football for “much longer” following the death of his father Jorge in August.

The attacker moved to the US side in 2023 from Paris Saint-Germain and after a 15-year career with Spanish giants Barcelona, with whom he won the UEFA Champions League four times and the Spanish title ten times.

Messi wanted to stay at Barcelona, but the club could not afford to keep him due to financial restrictions. This resulted in his move to Qatar-backed PSG, where he spent two years winning two league titles before moving to Miami.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko

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