Lionel Messi Argentina Retirement First 2016 World Cup Copa America

Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football in a lengthy statement that he put up on his social media handles on Monday. The announcement was followed by an outpouring of tributes from within and beyond the world of football, with many of his teammates expressing sadness that they won’t be able to share a dressing room with him any more. At the same time, though, it was an announcement that was largely expected, unlike what was the case when he made a retirement announcement a decade ago.

Messi said that he had written the statement he put out on Monday just two days after the 2026 World Cup final and has now released it after the death of his father and longtime agent Jorge. It was a heartbreak that pushed him to put a full stop on his career with Argentina but he was 39 years old by then and had won pretty much every trophy that he could compete for, including and most importantly the World Cup. A decade ago, however, Messi announced his retirement from international football in wake of a defeat in a third consecutive major final.

Messi and Argentina had lost 2015 Copa America Centenario final on penalties to Chile. This came after he lost the 2015 Copa America final and the 2014 World Cup final. With each defeat, questions over his legacy with Argentina and his will to play for the team compared to when he plays for Barcelona only grew steadily louder. After the match, Messi walked out of the stadium and said that he has had enough.

“For me, the national team is over,” Messi had said quite suddenly. “I was thinking in the locker room that this is it. I am no longer going to play for the national team. Like what I had just said, this is my fourth final, it is not for me. Unfortunately, I have come this far (to the final). It is what I wanted more than anything, but it wasn’t meant to be. I think this is it,” he told Argentinian TV network TyC Sports, his face a picture of a man resigned to the fact that his legacy would be that of a great player who never quite matched the heights he reached in club football in his international career.

Unlike what has been the case since Monday, Messi’s first announcement was met with shock and an overwhelming appeal from Argentina for him to reverse this decision. The campaign dominated the conversations in the media and spilled on to the streets as well with about 50,000 supporters going to the Obelisco de Buenos Aires on July 2 holding up signs and placards that mostly said ‘No Te Vayas Leo’ (Don’t go Leo).

Messi finally did reverse that decision about a month later, stating in August that he will be available for Argentina’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers. As it turned out, the floodgates of international honours opened for Messi only after that. On July 10, 2021, Messi won his first international trophy in the form of the Copa America. The next year, he ended his lifelong wait, and Argentina’s nearly four-decade long wait, for a World Cup trophy. Argentina beat France on penalties after a 3-3 draw in a match that is regarded as one of the greatest World Cup finals in history. On July 14, Messi and Argentina succesfully defended their Copa America title, making it his third international trophy.