Miami (AFP) – At 39, Argentine football legend Lionel Messi announced his international retirement on Monday after more than two decades of a passionate relationship with his team, concluded by a lost final at the World Cup.

Published on: 08/31/2026 - 7:03 p.m. Modified on: 08/31/2026 - 10:11 p.m.

“Time has passed since the final, and after thinking about it a lot, I want to announce to you all that I am retiring with the national team. It is a decision (...) which still hurts deep within me, but I understand that it is the moment”, wrote on his Instagram account the eight-time Ballon d'Or, who scored 125 goals in 207 caps.

"I don't have much time left, the stages come one after the other and this one particularly hurts me. I love, I loved and I will always love the selection. I gave everything, I have nothing left to give, there are very good young people coming up behind and who deserve their place", continued the man who scored another quadruple this weekend with his club Inter Miami.

In his message, which generated more than 7.5 million hearts and 625,000 comments in four hours, Messi explains that he wrote these words on July 21, two days after the World Cup final lost against Spain (1-0 a.p.). The death of his father and agent Jorge Messi, which occurred at the beginning of August, reinforced his decision to turn the page, he explained.

The international retirement of the former Barça and Paris SG star creates a void in the world of football, accustomed to the prowess of the N.10 who had his first selection in 2005, and leaves his lifelong rival Cristiano Ronaldo orphaned, who admitted in August that he was considering hanging up his boots soon.

“You are eternal”

“Thank you for giving so much joy to millions of football fans,” commented FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “You retire from international football as a world champion and as one of the best players our sport has ever known,” adds the head of the international federation on Instagram.

For his last competition with Argentina, Messi delighted during the World Cup this summer, with 8 goals including a hat-trick against Algeria. But he missed his final. In 2014 in Brazil, he had already stumbled on the last step, against Germany (1-0 ap).

Its apotheosis will remain the 2022 World Cup in Qatar won at the expense of France on penalties, at the end of a scenario that remains in the legend of the competition.

His record with Argentina also includes two Copa Americas (2021, 2024), an Olympic title (2008), a Finalissima against European champion Italy (2022) and an Under-20 World Cup (2005). His successes in the national team have cemented his place in the Pantheon of Argentine football alongside idol Diego Maradona.

"Just thank you, the greatest in all history, thank you for making us so much, so happy, you can't imagine how many smiles you gave birth to!! You are eternal", reacted his teammate in the selection and in Miami, Rodrigo De Paul.

The “emptiness” that comes

“We will be grateful to you all our lives for being Argentinian, for having raised Argentina to the top of the world,” greeted Angel Di Maria, who rubbed shoulders with Messi at PSG and in the selection.

“I saw you suffer, fall and get up again (...) What pride to have been by your side on this road and to have seen you realize all your dreams. You deserved this story and much more. We love you infinitely,” commented his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, on Instagram.

“Thank you very much, impossible man...!!!”, reacted President Javier Milei on X.

In the streets of Buenos Aires, Porteños said they felt the end of an era. Ernesto Godoy, a 38-year-old teacher, praised for AFP "a mind-blowing career, a sporting profile like very few: a way of playing football which is a mixture of technical consistency and street football". “There was Maradona, a void, then Messi, and now we are going to live this void, live without Messi, like when Argentina lived without Maradona,” he anticipates.

The relationship between Messi, who left his native country at 13 to join the Barcelona training center, and his selection has had many episodes, not always happy ones. The player announced his international retirement in 2016, following a third defeat in the Copa America final. A few weeks later, he reversed his decision.

The “Pulga” (the flea) confided after the death of his father that he did not see himself playing “for a long time”. Messi is under contract until the end of the 2028 season with Inter Miami.

“I leave with the serenity and pride of having given you, with my teammates, dream moments. It was incredible to experience all of this with you. I love you! Thank you to God for making me Argentinian,” Messi wrote at the conclusion of his farewell message.

© 2026 AFP

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