Buenos Aires (Argentina) (AFP) - World champion and two-time winner of the Copa América with Argentina, Lionel Messi ended his international career with the Albiceleste this Monday, after 21 years and 125 goals with his national team's shirt, of which he is the top scorer.

First modification: 08/31/2026 - 19:07

These are the key moments, for better or worse, of the Rosario star with Argentina:

. 2006: his first World Cup

Ten months after his debut with the senior national team - some fiery first steps stopped short by an expulsion less than a minute after entering the field - Messi is called up by José Pékerman for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Messi made his debut in the most important football tournament in the 74th minute of the second match of the group stage, on June 16, 2006, when Argentina already dominated 3-0 against Serbia and Montenegro.

He gave an assist to Hernán Crespo just four minutes after he came into the game and then joined the party with a goal, to close Argentina's 6-0 win in that match, a few days before his 19th birthday.

. 2014: runner-up in Maracaná

After two consecutive eliminations in the quarterfinals against Germany (2006 and 2010), Argentina meets that team again in the final of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

In South Africa 2010, Messi had failed to score, but in that 2014 World Cup he had shone with four goals and an assist, being decisive in the team's path to the final, to the point of being chosen the best player in the competition despite not being champion.

The Barça attacker, who had become captain of his team, experienced the 1-0 defeat against the Germans in extra time of the final at the Maracaná in Rio de Janeiro with enormous disappointment.

. 2016: a first ephemeral goodbye

With a glorious career with Barça, Messi was accumulating frustrations with his team and some of his words went around the world in June 2016.

Argentina had lost the final of the Copa América against Chile in 2015 and a year later they faced the same team again in the decisive duel of the same tournament, where they hoped to get revenge.

The fight went to the penalty shootout, like a year before, and history repeated itself: the mistakes of Lucas Biglia and Messi himself led to a new title for Chile.

Hot after the defeat, the Argentine No.10 announced his goodbye to the national team at just 29 years old.

A wave of requests then began to reverse that decision, from the then president Mauricio Macri to the legend Diego Maradona and thousands and thousands of fans.

Two months later, Messi decided to return, to the relief of an entire country.

. 2021: the first Copa América, finally

On the verge of leaving Barcelona after 17 seasons to join PSG, Lionel Messi remained focused during the 2021 Copa América in Brazil: he was the tournament's top scorer and top assist scorer, leading Argentina to the final against the Seleção.

This July 10, 2021, in hostile territory, Argentina won 1-0 with a goal from Ángel Di María.

After three lost finals in the Copa América (2007, 2015, 2016), Messi finally got rid of his thorn and savored his first major title with Argentina.

. 2022: top of the world

Overmotivated under the orders of Lionel Scaloni, Messi felt that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was his great opportunity.

From the beginning he made it clear and before the final he had scored five goals, being key to the Albiceleste's path until the last game.

The event was on December 18, 2022 in Lusail, near Doha, and the Argentina captain assumed his status as leader by scoring a double against France, where Kylian Mbappé responded with a triple to sign a 3-3 that postponed the decision until the penalty shootout.

Gonzalo Montiel scored the shot that gave Argentina its third star and at 35 years old Messi could finally feel like the king of the world.

. 2026: dethroned in New Jersey

In 2024, Argentina continued its historic winning streak with a Copa América title.

Already at Inter Miami and in a twilight stage of his career, Messi set out to attend the 2026 World Cup in North America and he achieved it.

Already entering the fray, he scored a hat trick against Algeria, a week before his 39th birthday.

In that tournament he reached and surpassed the German Miroslav Klose as the top scorer in the history of the World Cup, although both were later surpassed in that classification during the same competition by Mbappé, who raised the record to 22 goals.

Messi had a total of 21 and the last one was his eighth goal in that 2026 World Cup, on July 7 in the round of 16, in the almost miraculous victory against Egypt (3-2).

He did not score later either in the quarterfinals against Switzerland (3-1), or in the semifinal against England (2-1). And not in the final lost to Spain (1-0) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford (New Jersey).

"The pain is very great and it will be difficult for this wound to close," he admitted on Instagram one day after the defeat against the Spanish.

© 2026 AFP

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