Industry Odisha Bureau, Aug 31: Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from international football, bringing to a close a two-decade international career that redefined the sport and finally delivered Argentina the World Cup it had craved for 36 years.
The announcement came via a handwritten letter posted to Instagram, weeks after Argentina’s heart breaking loss to Spain in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The 39-year-old said the decision had been agonizing but that the moment had come to step aside, adding that he had always given everything for the shirt — not only in the recent trophy-laden years, but across his entire career.
Messi revealed that he had actually written the letter on June 21, just two days after the final whistle in the World Cup final, but chose to delay its release. The reason: his father and long-time agent, Jorge Messi, was gravely ill at the time. Jorge passed away on August 8 in the family’s hometown of Rosario, a loss Messi said only strengthened his resolve to walk away from the national team.
In the letter, Messi also addressed the Argentine public directly, thanking supporters for two decades of devotion and promising to remain one of them — cheering from the stands rather than the pitch, through both triumph and disappointment. He extended gratitude to his family, coaches, and teammates, and closed with a heartfelt tribute to his country.
A Career for the Ages
Messi’s international journey began in 2005 and spanned six World Cups, from 2006 through 2026. He finishes as the tournament’s second-highest all-time goal-scorer, with 21 goals in 34 matches — a tally surpassed only by France’s Kylian Mbappe, who has 22.
His crowning achievement came in Qatar in 2022, when he finally lifted the World Cup after years of near-misses, silencing critics who had long argued his trophy cabinet was incomplete without the sport’s ultimate prize. He returned to lead Argentina to the final once more in 2026, but the team fell to Spain in a bid for back-to-back titles.
This year’s tournament saw Messi produce vintage form even at 39, contributing eight goals and four assists, including his first-ever World Cup hat-trick, in a win over Algeria. He briefly held the record for most World Cup goals in history before Mbappe reclaimed it.
What’s Next
While his international career has ended, Messi’s playing days are not over. He remains contracted to Inter Miami through 2028 and is expected to continue representing the club in Major League Soccer.
His departure leaves a void atop Argentine football but also, as Messi himself noted, opens the door for a new generation of talent to carry the Albiceleste forward. Few players in the sport’s history have shaped a national team’s fortunes as profoundly — and few farewells have felt as symbolic of an era’s end.
