Lionel Messi retires from Argentina duty after sixth World Cup campaign

A painful farewell

Lionel Messi has retired from international football, bringing to a close a 20-year career with Argentina after the 2026 World Cup. The 39-year-old captain made his final appearance for his country in Argentina’s defeat by Spain in the World Cup final, ending his sixth campaign at the tournament.

Confirming his decision on Monday, Messi said the choice to leave the national team “hurts deep in my soul”, but added that he had come to realise “the time has come”.

Messi’s final World Cup ended in disappointment as Argentina were beaten by Spain after extra time. The South American champions managed only two shots during 120 minutes, with one of those attempts coming from Messi and being blocked. Ferran Torres scored the winning goal in the 106th minute.

In a statement announcing his retirement, Messi reflected on the difficulty of ending such a long chapter.

“It was a decision that hurt – and still hurts – deep in my soul, but I realise that the time has come.”

An extraordinary international career

Messi leaves Argentina as the country’s all-time record appearance holder and leading goalscorer, with 207 appearances and 125 goals. He had captained the national team since 2011 and spent two decades representing his country at the highest level.

The 2026 World Cup was his sixth, drawing him level with Cristiano Ronaldo for the most editions played by any player in the men’s tournament. His first World Cup came in 2006, while the 2010 tournament in South Africa was the only edition in which he failed to score.

During his final World Cup campaign, Messi became only the third player, after Brazil’s Cafu, to appear in three men’s World Cup finals. Argentina lost to Germany in the 2014 final before Messi led his country to victory in 2022. His final tournament ended with another appearance in the decisive match, but Spain prevented Argentina from retaining the title.

Messi was also a two-time winner of the World Cup Golden Ball, receiving the award for the tournament’s best player in 2014 and 2022.

Final tournament records

Despite Argentina’s defeat in the final, Messi finished the 2026 tournament with eight goals and four assists. He ended second in the Golden Boot race behind France captain Kylian Mbappe and received the Silver Ball, finishing behind Golden Ball winner Rodri.

During the tournament in North America, Messi also briefly became the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history. He surpassed Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who had scored 16 goals, when he opened the scoring in Argentina’s 2-0 group-stage victory against Austria.

The record was short-lived. Mbappe scored twice in France’s third-place play-off against England, taking his World Cup total to 22 goals and moving ahead of Messi.

Messi said Argentina’s run to a second consecutive World Cup final remained an achievement he would remember despite the pain of defeat.

“I’ve given my all; I’ve nothing left to give, and besides, there are some brilliant young players coming through who deserve their place.”

The end of one chapter

Messi’s decision followed a difficult personal period. Earlier in August, he had spoken about doubts over continuing his playing career “for much longer” following the death of his father, Jorge Messi, who died on August 8 at the age of 68.

In his retirement statement, Messi said he had originally written his words on July 21, two days after the World Cup final, but that events involving his father had strengthened his conviction.

He thanked his family, coaches, team-mates and supporters, saying he would remain connected to the national team as a supporter.

“Thank you for all the love over these 20 years. I’m going to miss hearing you all from the pitch so much.”

Argentina’s next major tournament will be the Copa America in 2028, when Messi would be 41. The following World Cup would see him turn 43 midway through the tournament.

While his international career has ended, Messi remains contracted to Inter Miami for another two years and is expected to resume his fourth season with the Major League Soccer club. He had previously said he would not retire from football until he could no longer perform, enjoy the game or help his team-mates.