Lionel Messi Retires From Argentina Duty After 21-Year International Career

Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from the Argentina national team, bringing an end to one of the most decorated international careers in football.

The 39-year-old forward said he had decided to step away after Argentina’s defeat by Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final and the recent death of his father, Jorge Messi.

In a statement, Messi said the decision was painful but that he believed it was the right time to leave.

He said he had always given everything to the national team and wanted to leave knowing that he had helped create memories that Argentines had once only dreamed of.

Messi revealed that he had written his retirement statement on 21 July, two days after the World Cup final, but had delayed making the announcement.

He said the death of his father had since made him even more convinced that it was the right decision.

“I love, I loved, and I will always love being part of the national team.I gave everything I had, and I don’t have anything more to give,” Messi said.

He also pointed to the emergence of younger Argentine players who, in his view, deserved the opportunity to represent the country.

Messi’s retirement ends a 21-year senior international career that began in 2005. He leaves as Argentina’s most-capped player and its leading goalscorer, with 207 appearances and 125 goals, according to current career records.

Messi’s relationship with the Argentina national team was marked by years of disappointment before he finally won major senior honours.

He reached the 2007 Copa América final with Argentina and later lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany.

Argentina then lost consecutive Copa América finals to Chile in 2015 and 2016.

After the 2016 Copa América final defeat, Messi announced his first retirement from international football at the age of 29. He had missed his penalty in the shootout as Chile won the final.

At the time, Messi said he had done everything he could for Argentina and that his international career was over.

He reversed that decision two months later and returned to the national team. He subsequently helped Argentina qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

There were further periods when Messi questioned his international future, particularly after disappointing tournaments. However, those were not formal retirement announcements.

His 2026 decision is therefore his second formal retirement from Argentina’s senior national team.

The years that followed transformed Messi’s international legacy.

He led Argentina to the Copa América title in 2021, ending the country’s 28-year wait for a major senior men’s international trophy.

A year later, Argentina defeated Italy in the Finalissima before Messi captained the team to the 2022 World Cup title in Qatar.

Argentina then retained the Copa América in 2024, defeating Colombia in the final.

Messi also won an Olympic gold medal with Argentina in 2008 and the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2005, although those titles came at youth or Olympic level rather than with the senior national team.

He is Argentina’s all-time leading scorer and has scored 13 goals at the World Cup, the most by an Argentine player. He also holds the record for the most World Cup appearances by an Argentine, with 26.

In the Copa América, Messi holds the record for most appearances, having played 39 matches across seven editions. He won the tournament twice, in 2021 and 2024.

He is also the only player to have won the World Cup Golden Ball twice, having been named the tournament’s best player in 2014 and 2022.

Messi’s final major tournament with Argentina was the 2026 World Cup.

Argentina reached the final but lost 1-0 to Spain after extra time, ending their hopes of retaining the title they won in Qatar four years earlier.

Messi had previously suggested that the 2026 World Cup could be his last. He ultimately played in the tournament before deciding to end his international career.

His retirement from Argentina does not mean an immediate end to his professional football career.

Messi continues to play club football for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer. His international retirement therefore marks the end of his career with Argentina, rather than his retirement from professional football altogether.

In his farewell message, Messi thanked Argentina’s supporters, his family, coaches, teammates and officials who had been part of his journey.

He said he would now support the national team from outside the pitch.

“Now I’ll be one of you, always supporting from the outside, in the good times and even more in the bad ones,” he said.

Messi ended his statement with a message of gratitude to the country he represented for more than two decades:

“Thank you God for making me Argentine. Vamos Argentina!” Messi wrote.