NEWS
Lionel Messi Announces Retirement from National Team!
After the lost World Cup final in the USA, the superstar calls time on his international career.
Lionel Messi is ending his national team career.
The global superstar announced this via "Instagram" over a month after the 2026 World Cup final, his last international match.
"It was a decision that hurt – and still hurts me deeply inside. But I understand that the time for it has come," reads, among other things, the emotional statement from the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner.
The Second End of an Era
He had already written the text two days after the defeat in the World Cup final. After the death of his father, the realization matured that retirement was the right decision.
With 125 goals in 207 international matches, Messi is – naturally, one could almost say – Argentina's record player and record goal scorer. The now 39-year-old lifted his nation to one World Cup title, a total of three World Cup finals, and two Copa América titles.
Already in 2016, after a bitter Copa final defeat, he ended his national team career for the first time. However, in the very next match, he was back.
