The note was dated July 21, two days after the World Cup final. Lionel Messi sat on it for six weeks, then posted a picture of it on Instagram on Monday, August 31: he was done with Argentina.
“It is a decision that hurts my soul but I know it is time,” he wrote to the country’s fans. “I have emptied myself: now I have nothing more to give and, besides, there are great young players coming through who deserve to be” selected.
Argentina had lost the final to Spain in the United States seven weeks earlier. Messi, 39, said the death of his father, Jorge, in early August left him “more convinced than before”. He had been visibly emotional through the tournament, and in the knockout rounds he revealed that Jorge was undergoing medical treatment.
The numbers behind the shirt
He leaves as Argentina’s record appearance maker and record scorer, with 207 caps and 125 goals. The first cap came in a friendly against Hungary in August 2005. He was sent off almost at once for catching Vilmos Vanczak with an elbow.
The trophies came late. After winning the Under-20 World Cup and Olympic gold in 2008, Messi lost the 2016 Copa América final to Chile on penalties, his fourth defeat in a major final out of four, and announced he was quitting. He was talked out of it. He lifted the 2021 Copa América after beating Brazil at the Maracanã, then was central to Argentina’s first World Cup win since 1986, scoring in every knockout round in Qatar, twice in the final against France. Argentina defended the Copa América in 2024. At this summer’s World Cup he briefly became the tournament’s all-time leading scorer before Kylian Mbappé passed him.
“I love, have loved and I will always love being part of the national team,” he wrote. He thanked his family for a “beautiful but difficult journey” and closed with a line to the fans: “I thank God for making me Argentinian.”
Tributes from teammates
Ángel Di María wrote: “All I know is that I was born in the right century to be able to see you.” Rodrigo de Paul posted: “You are eternal.” Enzo Fernández recalled writing to Messi as a teenager, begging him to reverse the 2016 decision, and said he had been lucky to share part of the story. “We’re going to miss you so much, capitán,” said Lautaro Martínez.
Club football goes on. Messi has played seven times for Inter Miami since the World Cup and scored four goals in a 7-1 win over Montreal on Saturday. His contract there runs to 2028, when he will be 41.
