Lionel Messi announces his retirement from international soccer. This summer served as his final World Cup
After 21 years, Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from international soccer, representing Argentina, finishing as a World Cup champion and scoring 125 goals.
Argentina superstar Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international soccer on Monday, ending 21 years of national-team duty capped by winning the World Cup in 2022.
“It was a decision that hurt — and still hurts deeply — but I understand that the time has come,” Messi, 39, said via his Instagram account.
Messi, who will continue to play at club level with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, played in a record-tying six World Cups. He won it four years ago in a tournament he dominated in Qatar and also led Argentina to the title match in 2014 and again this year, when the Albiceleste lost to Spain in extra time inside MetLife Stadium.
Messi stands shoulder to shoulder with Diego Maradona, a compatriot with whom he was so often compared, and Brazil icon Pelé as the greatest players of all time.
For many, he’s the best.
“I swear to you that I always gave it my all — not just in these last few years when we won everything, but before that too,” Messi wrote. ”I always fought and left everything on the field for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football.”
Messi played 207 games for Argentina and finished as its all-time leading scorer with 125 goals, 21 of them in World Cups. Only one player has more goals in men’s internationals — his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 146 and has yet to announce his retirement from Portugal duty.
Messi became the all-time leading World Cup scorer for a month in the recent tournament in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, but finished one goal behind France’s Kylian Mbappé.
Decision to leave (again)
In a long social-media post, Messi explained he wrote his retirement letter on July 21 — two days after the World Cup final in which he struggled to make an impact — but waited to publish it because his father was facing health issues that eventually claimed his life.
Jorge Messi died on Aug. 8 in his native Rosario.
The news marks the second time Messi made the decision to retire.
A decade ago, he retired from the national team following Argentina’s defeat in the 2016 Copa America final to Chile on penalty kicks — one of which he missed.
A public campaign led by Maradona and the president changed his mind, and Messi shook off the notion of not being able to win the big matches, returning to the Argentina team and continuing to star for Barcelona, then Paris Saint-Germain, then MLS’s Inter Miami.
In just his fourth season in MLS, he’s a two-time MVP and was the star in Miami’s run to an MLS Cup win last season.
“He is pure history,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said during the recent World Cup. “History. A legend.”
In the letter, Messi did not say how long he intends to continue playing. The recent World Cup showed he’s still one of the best players in the world, as did a four-goal display for Inter Miami at the weekend in a 7-1 victory over CF Montreal.
“I leave with the peace of mind and pride of having given you — along with my teammates — moments we once only dreamed of. Experiencing this with you was incredible. I love you all,” he added.