Buenos Aires: Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from international football, bringing an end to more than two decades with Argentina.
The 39 year old Argentina captain confirmed his decision on Monday in a statement posted on Instagram. Messi said the decision was painful, but he understood that the time had come to end his career with the national team.
Messi wrote that he had given everything he had to Argentina and that talented young players coming through deserved their opportunity with the national team.
His final appearance for Argentina came in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final on July 19, when Argentina lost 1 0 to Spain after extra time in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The defeat ended Argentina's hopes of defending the World Cup title they won in Qatar in 2022.
Messi leaves the national team as Argentina's most capped player and leading scorer. He made 207 appearances and scored 125 goals for his country. He also played in six World Cups, scoring 21 goals in the tournament.
His international career began in 2005 and included some of the highest and lowest moments in Argentine football. Before winning a major senior international trophy, Messi suffered defeats in the 2014 World Cup final and the Copa America finals in 2007, 2015 and 2016.
In 2016, after Argentina lost the Copa America final to Chile on penalties, Messi briefly announced his retirement from international football. He later reversed his decision and returned to the national team.
That return began the most successful period of his Argentina career.
Messi won his first major senior international trophy when Argentina defeated Brazil in the 2021 Copa America final. In 2022, he led Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar after a 3 3 draw with France, with Argentina winning the final on penalties.
Argentina won the Copa America again in 2024, giving Messi two Copa America titles with his country.
The 2026 World Cup was Messi's sixth appearance at the tournament. He played all eight of Argentina's matches and scored eight goals, finishing one goal behind France's Kylian Mbappe in the tournament scoring race.
Messi's decision to retire had been considered for some time. He revealed that he wrote his retirement message on July 21, two days after Argentina's defeat by Spain in the World Cup final, but did not publish it immediately.
His father, Jorge Messi, died on August 8 in Rosario at the age of 68. Messi later said that what happened to his father left him even more convinced that retiring from the national team was the right decision.
The Argentine Football Association paid tribute to Messi after his announcement, thanking him for his contribution and professionalism and describing his career as part of an important era in Argentine football.
Messi's retirement from the national team does not mean he has retired from football altogether. He continues to play for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, with his current contract running through the end of the 2028 season.
His international career closes after 21 years, with one World Cup title, two Copa America titles, 207 appearances and 125 goals.
Messi leaves Argentina as one of the defining figures in the country's football history. After years of disappointment, he eventually delivered the major international titles that had eluded him and established a lasting legacy of his own alongside the country's earlier football greats.