"I have given everything I have to the national team and now I have nothing left to give," Messi said in a heartfelt statement. He said chapters inevitably end but this one hurts deeply and added that his love for being part of the national side has never waned and never will. He said he had given his best over the years and wanted to step aside for a talented new generation of players who deserve their chance to shine.
A Decision Shaped by Personal Loss
Messi had hinted earlier in August that he was reconsidering his future in football following the death of his father, Jorge, who passed away at 68 after a long illness. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner revealed that he had actually written his retirement message back on July 21, just two days after Argentina's loss to Spain in this summer's World Cup final. In a follow-up post shared on Instagram, Messi said that after everything that happened with his father, he now feels even more certain about his decision than before.
Messi's playing career isn't over entirely, though, as he will continue competing at the club level with Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, where his contract runs through the end of the 2028 season.
Messi's international journey began in 2005, when he made his Argentina debut as a substitute in the 63rd minute of a 2-1 friendly win over Hungary. That debut took an unexpected turn almost immediately, as he was sent off with a straight red card less than a minute later after his elbow made contact with defender Vilmos Vanczak. Despite that rocky start, Messi went on to become one of the sport's greatest players, eventually lifting the World Cup and two Copa America titles with Argentina. He finishes his international career as the second-highest goalscorer in World Cup history with 21 goals, trailing only France's Kylian Mbappe, who has 22. In all international competitions, Messi's 125 goals place him second behind longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, who has scored 146.
A Storied Career Comes Full Circle
This isn't the first time Messi has stepped away from international football. He previously retired in 2016 following a Copa America final defeat to Chile, a loss that included a missed penalty in the shootout and marked Argentina's fourth major final defeat in nine years, though he later reversed that decision.
At this summer's World Cup, Messi contributed eight goals and four assists, bringing his career World Cup assist total to 12, ten of which came during knockout-stage matches, a figure no other player on record has matched, with the closest total sitting at eight.
In his farewell message, Messi thanked fans for two decades of unwavering support, saying he will deeply miss hearing them cheer from the pitch. He said he'll now simply become one of the supporters himself, always cheering from the sidelines. He expressed pride and peace in having shared unforgettable moments with fans alongside his teammates, calling the entire journey incredible and closing his message by telling supporters he loves them.
The emotional toll of Messi's father's death and Argentina's World Cup final loss to Spain - in which the gap between the two teams seemed particularly wide - seem to be the two major factors in Messi's decision. There has also been speculation that Messi might end his career at his boyhood club, Newell's Old Boys, but that would not be without its difficulties, not least having to move his family to Rosario and adapt to a lower level of competition. How much longer he will continue to play at Inter Miami remains to be seen for now, with his future beyond international football very much his own decision to make.
