MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“I gave everything, I have nothing left”: Messi ends twenty years with Argentina

Photo: EFE

Lionel Messi announced on Monday his retirement from the Argentine national team at the age of 39, in a handwritten letter posted on his social media accounts, 43 days after the World Cup final defeat to Spain.

“After the time that has passed since the final, having thought about it a great deal, I want to tell you all that I am retiring from the national team,” the text begins. “I gave everything, I have nothing left to give, and besides, there are very good young players coming through who deserve to be there,” he added, referring to generational change. “It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep down, but I understand it is the moment.”

The letter is dated. In its final paragraph, Messi specifies that he wrote it on July 21, two days after the final played in New Jersey, and adds: “Today, after what happened with my father, I am more convinced than before.” His father, Jorge Messi, who acted as his agent and was a central figure in his career, died on August 8.

The retirement applies only to the national team. The forward remains under contract with Inter Miami until 2028, though after his father's death he said he was considering bringing forward the end of his playing career.

 

 

 

 

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Una publicación compartida por Leo Messi (@leomessi)

Messi leaves as Argentina's all-time leading scorer, with 125 goals in 207 matches over two decades. With the senior side he won the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 Finalissima, the Qatar World Cup that same year and the 2024 Copa América, in addition to the 2005 Under-20 World Cup and Olympic gold in 2008. He lost five finals: the 2007 Copa América, the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 and 2016 Copa América tournaments and the 2026 World Cup. In that last tournament he scored eight goals and provided four assists.

He had announced his retirement once before, in 2016, after a penalty shoot-out defeat to Chile. Months later, coach Edgardo Bauza persuaded him to return, in an approach in which his father acted as intermediary.

“Thank you for all the affection of these twenty years. I will greatly miss hearing you from the inside. Now I will be one more of you,” he wrote, addressing supporters. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, a recent signing for Chelsea, replied on Instagram thanking him for making him a world champion.

The team enters its new cycle without its captain and with several players suspended. FIFA's Disciplinary Committee on August 21 banned Leandro Paredes for ten matches, Nahuel Molina for seven, assistant coach Roberto Ayala for three and Thiago Almada for one, following the confrontations at the end of the final against Spain.