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A historic chapter in the world of football has come to an end. Argentina's great star and captain Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from international football. Messi, who spread his magic on the field in Argentina's jersey for almost 21 years, will no longer be seen playing for the national team.

Sports News: Lionel Messi, one of the greatest players in the football world, has announced his retirement from international football at the age of 39. The Argentine captain informed about his decision through social media on 31 August 2026. With this, his glorious journey of more than two decades with the Argentinian national team ended.

Messi's international career started in 2005. He played 207 matches for Argentina and scored 125 goals. He is saying goodbye to international football as the player who has played the most matches and scored the most goals for the country.

Messi announced his retirement with an emotional message

Messi said in his official message that after the final he thought a lot and then decided to retire from the national team. He admitted that this decision is extremely painful for him, but he feels that now the time has come. Messi also said that he always gave his all for the Argentina jersey. He talked about working hard for the national team along with the successes achieved in the last few years as well as in the difficult times before that.

According to Messi, now many talented young players are coming forward in the team and they should get the opportunity to make their place in the national team. The Argentine Football Association has also published Messi's farewell message.

2022 World Cup victory became the biggest achievement of career

The biggest milestone in Messi's international career was the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In the tournament played in Qatar, Argentina won the World Cup trophy after 36 years by defeating France in the final. Messi performed brilliantly in that tournament and played an important role in making the team champion. This was their first World Cup title and with this victory their long wait to win a major international trophy with Argentina ended.

Earlier, Messi had led Argentina to the Copa America title in 2021. Argentina also won the Copa America in 2024 and under the captaincy of Messi, the team achieved continuous international success.

2026 World Cup becomes Messi's last international tournament

The 2026 FIFA World Cup was Messi's sixth World Cup. Argentina performed brilliantly and reached the finals, but due to a 1-0 defeat against Spain in the title match, the team remained runner-up. This match also proved to be Messi's last match in Argentina jersey. Earlier in 2014 also, Messi had taken Argentina to the World Cup final, but Germany had won that match. In this way, there were three World Cup finals in his career – 2014, 2022 and 2026.

Decision to retire increased after father's death

An emotional aspect of Messi's decision to retire was the death of his father George Messi. George Messi died on 8 August 2026 at the age of 68. Messi told that he had written his farewell message on July 21, i.e. two days after the 2026 World Cup final. However, after his father's demise, he made it public and said that after this incident he was more confident about his decision than before.

Messi's journey will continue in club football

Despite retiring from international football, Messi has not finished playing at club level. He is playing for American Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami. Messi's contract with Inter Miami is until the end of the 2028 MLS season. This means that football fans will still be able to see him play on the field at club level.

Messi is leaving a historic legacy for Argentina with 125 goals in 207 matches. He led the team to two Copa América titles and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Even in 2026, he took the team to the World Cup final.