Messi Announces Retirement from International Football with the Argentine National Team

Football legend Lionel Messi, who has won the FIFA World Player of the Year award eight times, announced his retirement from international football a few weeks after the Argentina national team, known as “La Albiceleste,” lost the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and following the deaths of his father and business agent, Jorge Messi.

Messi, 39, wrote on Instagram on Monday, “Some time has passed since the final, and after much thought, I want to announce to everyone that I am retiring from the national team. It is a decision that still hurts me deeply, but I realize this is the right time.”

Messi will continue playing club football with Inter Miami in the United States. He had previously announced his retirement from international football for the first time after losing the 2016 Copa America final, before reversing his decision and returning to play in the 2018 World Cup, and then achieving glory four years later in Qatar.