Messi retires from Argentina national team

Lionel Messi announced Monday that he is retiring from international soccer, closing a two-decade career with Argentina that included six World Cups, a 2022 title in Qatar and a final appearance this summer.

The 39-year-old made the announcement in an Instagram post, saying the decision was painful but necessary.

“It was a decision that hurt — and still hurts deeply — but I understand that the time has come,” Messi wrote. “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; 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 led Argentina to this year’s World Cup final, where the team lost to Spain in extra time in New Jersey. He played all eight matches in the tournament hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, scoring eight goals and finishing one behind France’s Kylian Mbappé, the top scorer, NPR reported.

He ends his international career as Argentina’s all-time leading scorer with 125 goals, including 21 in World Cups, according to NPR. He made his senior national team debut in 2006 and played in a record-tying six World Cups.

Messi said he wrote his retirement letter two days after the final but delayed publishing it as his father, Jorge Messi, faced health problems. CBS News reported Messi said he wrote the letter on June 21, while NPR reported the date as July 21. Jorge Messi died Aug. 8 in his native Rosario at age 68.

After his father’s death, Messi wrote, he “didn’t know how to keep going. All I ever did was play soccer and now I have serious doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer.” On Monday, he added: “Today, after everything with my dad, I am even more convinced than before.”

Messi thanked Argentina supporters for their backing throughout his career.

“Thank you for all the love these past 20 years,” he wrote. “I’m going to miss hearing you all from the inside so much. Now I’m going to be one of you, cheering and supporting you from the outside (through thick and thin, even more so).”

He added: “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.”

Messi’s international career included earlier disappointment before Argentina’s recent run of trophies. NPR reported that he had retired from the national team once before, after Argentina lost the 2016 Copa América final to Chile on penalty kicks, a shootout in which Messi missed.

He later returned and helped Argentina win the World Cup in 2022, along with Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024. During the recent World Cup, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni called him “pure history.”

“History. A legend,” Scaloni said.

Messi will continue playing club soccer for Inter Miami, though he did not say how long he plans to continue his professional career. He joined Miami after 17 seasons with Barcelona and a brief stint with Paris Saint-Germain. Over the weekend, he scored four goals in Inter Miami’s 7-1 win over CF Montreal, NPR reported.