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Lionel Messi Retirement: Argentina Legend, World Cup Winner Brings Curtains Down on 21-Year International Career | Full Statement

Samira Vishwas | September 1, 2026 7:24 AM CST

Argentina football legend Lionel Messi has officially brought down curtains on his legendary 21-year-old international career. The 39-year-old released a lengthy statement on Instagram, announcing his decision to retire from international football and claimed that the time has come to bid goodbye to the Argentina national team.

“⁠I always fought and left everything on the field for this jersey” – Lionel Messi

Taking to Instagram, the veteran footballer wrote that his father’s recent demise has convinced him to retire with conviction. He stated:

How many goals did Lionel Messi strike in the FIFA World Cup 2026?

The star forward’s final international match was during the FIFA World Cup 2026 final against Spain at the MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford in New Jersey. While Argentina entered the tournament-decider as considerable favourites, Spain miraculously didn’t let them take even one scoring shot. Ferran Torres hit the lone goal of the match as Spain went on to lift the FIFA World Cup for the second time and for the first time since 2010. However, Messi still had a tournament to remember, netting eight goals and clinched the Adidas Silver Boot.

After years of disappointment with Argentina, including defeat in the 2014 World Cup final and successive Copa America finals, Messi won his first major international trophy at the 2021 Copa America before leading his ⁠country to glory at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The former Barcelona and Paris St Germain forward who now plays for Inter Miami added another Copa America title in 2024 and arrived at his sixth World ⁠Cup hoping to complete an extraordinary final chapter.

A 1-0 loss to Spain ensured that did not happen but Messi, who made his Argentina debut in 2005, walks away having emerged from ⁠the shadow of 1986 World Cup-winning captain Diego Maradona to forge a legacy of his own as another defining figure in his country’s football history.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Aayushman Vishwanathan

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