“It is a decision that hurts my soul but I know it is time.” With those words, posted on Instagram on Monday, Lionel Messi ended his career with Argentina. He is 39.
The statement came seven weeks after Argentina lost the World Cup final to Spain in the United States. Messi had written it on 21 July, two days after that match, and only now shared a photo of the notes. He told supporters that he always gave everything for the shirt, “to give you joy and make you proud of being Argentinian through football.” Then the line that stung most: “I have emptied myself: now I have nothing more to give.” He added that there are great young players coming through who deserve their chance.
His father, Jorge, died in early August. Messi said that made him feel “more convinced than before”. He had been visibly emotional through the tournament, and in the knockout stages he revealed that Jorge was undergoing medical treatment. In the statement he also thanked his family for staying with him on a “beautiful but difficult journey”.
From a red card to Qatar
The first of his 207 caps came in a friendly against Hungary in August 2005. He was sent off almost at once for catching Vilmos Vanczak with an elbow. He finishes as Argentina’s record appearance maker and its record scorer, with 125 goals. Before the senior side, he had won the Under-20 World Cup, and he took Olympic gold in 2008.
The trophies with the national team came late. Messi first announced his retirement in 2016, after Argentina lost on penalties to Chile in the Copa America final, his fourth defeat in a major final out of four. Critics said he never matched his club form for his country, and the comparisons with Diego Maradona never let up. He was persuaded to carry on. In 2021 he lifted the Copa America at the Maracana, beating Brazil in the final. Then came Qatar, where he scored in every knockout round, twice in the final against France, and Argentina won its first World Cup since 1986. Argentina defended the Copa America title in 2024.
This summer was his sixth World Cup. He turned 39 during it and briefly held the tournament scoring record before Kylian Mbappe passed him.
Tributes and what is next
Angel Di Maria, who scored in the 2021 Copa America and 2022 World Cup finals, led the messages from old teammates. “All I know is that I was born in the right century to be able to see you, enjoy you and, above all, share with you all these years with the national team,” he wrote. Rodrigo de Paul posted: “You can’t imagine how many times you made people smile. You are eternal.”
Enzo Fernandez, who as a teenager had written to Messi begging him to reverse the 2016 decision, said: “That kid was so lucky.” Striker Lautaro Martinez wrote: “We’re going to miss you so much, capitan.”
Club football goes on. Since the World Cup, Messi has played seven times for Inter Miami and scored four goals in a 7-1 win over Montreal on Saturday. He signed an extension last year that runs to 2028, when he will be 41.
