Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from international football with Argentina, bringing to an end a career spanning more than 20 years and featuring a World Cup triumph, two Copa America titles, Olympic gold and a Finalissima win.
The 39-year-old made the announcement on Monday in an Instagram post containing a photograph of a handwritten page from his notebook. Messi said he had decided to step away two days after Argentina’s 1-0 defeat by Spain in the 2026 World Cup final, while the death of his father, Jorge Messi, on 8 August reaffirmed that decision.
Messi’s departure closes one of the greatest chapters in Argentina’s football history. Since making his international debut in 2005, he has provided supporters with countless moments of celebration and led the national team to trophies that have secured his place among the players most closely associated with the country’s shirt and crest.
His defining moment came in the 2022 World Cup final against France. Messi scored twice during normal time and converted Argentina’s first penalty in the shootout before Gonzalo Montiel struck the decisive kick. As Argentina became world champions for the first time in 36 years, Messi fell to his knees in celebration.
After more than 15 years with the senior national team, he had finally won football’s biggest prize.
There were doubts about what Messi could produce at the 2026 World Cup at the age of 39, particularly after setting such a high standard with his performance four years earlier. He answered those questions with a series of outstanding displays in the United States.
Messi also set another World Cup record when he scored against Austria in the group stage to take his tournament tally to 18 goals. He had arrived with 16 goals after scoring a hat-trick in Argentina’s opening match against Algeria and needed one goal to move beyond Germany great Miroslav Klose.
Although Messi missed an early penalty against Austria, he responded by scoring twice. France forward Kylian Mbappe eventually overtook him and finished his World Cup career with 22 goals, but Messi’s performance against Austria remained one of the defining moments of the tournament.
Argentina’s semi-final victory over England was another landmark. Messi provided two assists as his side recovered to win 2-1 and reach another World Cup final.
“Although it was only one match, we experienced some special moments. The fans wanted this victory more than any other, because of what it meant to face England in the semi-final and reach another World Cup final,” Messi said.
The result also allowed Messi to match Diego Maradona’s record of overcoming England on the international stage, 40 years after Maradona’s famous performance in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, which included the “Hand of God” and “Goal of the Century”.
From despair to Argentina’s greatest successes
Messi had previously announced his international retirement after Argentina lost the 2016 Copa America final to Chile. The decision stunned reporters in the mixed zone.
“My thinking now, after thinking about it in the dressing room, is that I’m done playing for the national team,” Messi told journalists.
“I gave everything I had. This is the fourth final I have played in and I have not been able to win. I tried everything possible. This hurts me more than anyone else, but clearly this is not for me. More than anyone, I wanted to win a title with the national team, but unfortunately it did not happen.”
He later returned and changed Argentina’s fortunes. After defeats in the 2007, 2015 and 2016 finals, Messi lifted the Copa America as captain in 2021 when Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. The victory ended a 28-year wait for a major international trophy.
Within six years, Messi had gone from the pain of two Copa America final defeats to lifting the trophy that had once prompted him to announce his retirement.
His relationship with the World Cup had also included disappointment. Messi played in his first final in 2014, when Argentina were beaten by Germany after Mario Gotze scored in extra time. Despite the defeat, Messi received the Golden Ball after recording four goals and one assist in seven matches.
He had pledged to return stronger and deliver the World Cup for Argentina. Eight years later, he fulfilled that promise.
One of the earliest signs of Messi’s extraordinary international future came on 16 June 2006, when the 18-year-old made his World Cup debut as a substitute against Serbia and Montenegro in the group stage. He entered in the 74th minute, scored shortly afterwards and finished with a goal and an assist as Argentina won 6-0.
Messi’s senior debut had been less auspicious. He played his first match for Argentina on 17 August 2005 in a friendly against Hungary in Budapest, but was shown a straight red card only seconds after coming on in the second half.
It was a difficult beginning, but the sending-off was soon overshadowed by decades of brilliance.
In 2010, Messi worked with another of Argentina’s greatest football figures when Diego Maradona coached him at the World Cup. Argentina were eliminated by Germany in the quarter-finals and the campaign was not especially successful on the pitch, but it gave supporters a rare chance to see the two players most deeply connected with the national team’s history working together in some capacity.
Messi’s final World Cup ended in further heartbreak. Spain’s 1-0 victory in the 2026 final denied Argentina back-to-back titles. Messi battled for more than 120 minutes despite the physical and emotional strain, but his side narrowly missed out on a second successive World Cup.
Even in defeat, the tournament will remain linked to Messi’s ability to break records and make history at the age of 39. Until the final whistle of his last match for Argentina, he continued to give everything for the millions of supporters watching around the world.
