Messi leaves as a World Cup winner after leading Argentina to glory in Qatar in 2022 and captaining them to the 2026 final, where Spain ended their campaign.
BY PC Bureau
August 31: Lionel Messi has brought down the curtain on his extraordinary international career, confirming his retirement from Argentina duty at the age of 39 after almost 20 years in the national shirt.
Messi’s decision ends one of the most remarkable chapters in international football. The Argentine captain made six World Cup appearances, won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and guided Argentina to the 2026 final, where they were beaten by Spain.
In an emotional statement released on Monday, Messi said the decision had been painful but that he believed the time had come to step away.
“After all this time since the final, and after thinking about it a lot, I want to tell everyone that I’m retiring from the national team,” he said.
Messi acknowledged that walking away from Argentina remained difficult, but said he had nothing more to give.
“It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep inside, but I understand that this is the right moment,” he said. “I always fought and gave everything for this shirt, to bring you happiness and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football.”
His international journey was marked by both prolonged disappointment and an extraordinary late-career transformation. After losing the 2014 World Cup final to Germany and suffering defeats in the Copa America finals of 2015 and 2016, Messi briefly announced his international retirement before returning to the national team.
The breakthrough finally came in 2021, when Argentina won the Copa America. A year later, Messi produced the defining achievement of his career by captaining Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar.
🚨 BREAKING: Lionel Messi has retired from international duty.🇦🇷💙
“After the time that has passed since the final, and after giving it a lot of thought, I want to let everyone know that I am retiring from the National Team.
“It was a decision that hurt, and still hurts deep… pic.twitter.com/SJRb3djGbn
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 31, 2026
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The triumph erased much of the frustration surrounding his earlier international career and cemented his status among football’s greatest players.
Argentina’s run to the 2026 World Cup final extended his remarkable longevity, but the defeat by Spain appears to have brought his international journey to its conclusion.
Messi said he was also conscious that a new generation of Argentine players was emerging.
“There are great young players coming through who deserve to be here,” he said.
His farewell carried a strong sense of gratitude towards the supporters who followed him through the highs and lows.
“Thank you for all the love during these 20 years,” Messi said. “I’m going to miss hearing you from the inside. Now I’ll be one of you, always supporting from the outside, in the good times and even more in the bad ones.”
He also thanked his family, coaches, teammates and officials who accompanied him throughout his international career.
“I take with me unforgettable memories and moments,” he said. “I leave with peace and pride, knowing that together with my teammates we gave you moments we once dreamed of.”
Messi revealed that he had actually written the statement on July 21, two days after the World Cup final, suggesting that he had already reached his decision shortly after Argentina’s defeat.
“Today, after what happened with my dad, I’m even more convinced of this decision than before,” he added.
For Argentina, Messi’s retirement represents the end of an era that transformed the country’s football history. He leaves after becoming the central figure of a generation that finally delivered the major international trophies that had eluded him for much of his career.
His final chapter was ultimately defined not by the defeats of his early years, but by the extraordinary run of success that followed: Copa America glory, a World Cup triumph and another World Cup final.
Messi now moves from the centre of Argentina’s football story to the role he once occupied from afar — that of a supporter watching the national team from the outside.
“Thank you God for making me Argentine,” he said.
“Vamos Argentina!”
