The lost World Cup final was his last game for Argentina: Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from the national team—after 21 years that will go down in history.
The bitter tears that Lionel Messi shed on the field in New Jersey after the lost World Cup final against Spain already felt like a farewell. Now the 39-year-old has announced that the World Cup final was his last game in the Argentine national team jersey.
After “careful consideration,” Messi shared the news on Instagram on Monday evening: “It was a decision that hurt—and that still hurts me deep down—but I understand that the time has come.” He wrote the emotional post, which he shared on his account on Monday, back on July 21, two days after the final. Now, following the death of his father, he is even more convinced that it was the right decision.
This marks the end of an era in Argentine soccer—one that could hardly have gotten off to a worse start. In his Albiceleste debut in August 2005, Messi was sent off with a red card just one minute after coming on as a substitute in a friendly against Hungary for violent conduct. What followed were 21 years in which Messi played 207 international matches and scored 125 goals. He is by far his country’s all-time leader in both appearances and goals scored.
Messi retired as early as 2016
And yet, for a long time, Messi’s national team career was in danger of remaining title-less. Unlike at FC Barcelona, “La Pulga” struggled to win a title with the senior national team—though he had won gold with the Olympic squad in Beijing in 2008. After missing a penalty in the 2016 Copa América final—which contributed to Argentina’s loss to Chile—Messi had already declared his international career over—but was back in action for the very next international match.
It would prove to be worth it. In 2021, Messi broke his title drought with a triumph at the Copa América, which he won again in 2024. In between came the undisputed crowning achievement—the World Cup title in Qatar in 2022. Messi, who had scored a total of “only” six goals in his four previous World Cup appearances, contributed seven goals to the title win, including a brace in the final against France.
Although his title defense fell short in New Jersey, Messi—at the age of 39—once again showed the world just what an exceptional player he can still be. Eight goals marked his best tally in a World Cup final tournament and earned him second place on the scoring list behind Kylian Mbappé. The Frenchman is also the only player ahead of Messi on the all-time World Cup scoring list. Messi, on the other hand, leads the list of players with the most World Cup appearances by a wide margin, with 34 appearances.
Messi plans to continue scoring goals for his club, Inter Miami; his contract with the Florida-based MLS team runs through the end of 2028.
