Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from Argentina’s national team after the team lost the 2026 World Cup final to Spain. The 39-year-old star said the decision had been painful, but the recent death of his father, Jorge Messi, strengthened his resolve.
Lionel Messi reflected on Argentina’s World Cup loss before making his retirement decision
The 39-year-old football star shared a handwritten message on Instagram along with a photo of three pages covered in notes and a pen placed beside them. In the post, Messi spoke about his retirement and reflected on Argentina’s World Cup loss.
The footballer expressed his feelings in Spanish, and the English translation reads, “After all this time that has passed since the final, and having thought about it a lot, I want to inform everyone that I am retiring from the National Team… It was a decision that hurt and still hurts to the soul, but I understand that this is the moment.”
Lionel Messi said that he has always loved being part of the national team. The Argentina star said he will miss those moments on the pitch when fans cheered for him, and now he will become one of those fans cheering from the outside.
In the end, the center forward revealed that he had written these letters just two days after the final, but what happened with his father convinced him to announce his retirement.
Messi said, “I wrote these words on July 21st, two days after the final. Today, after what happened with my dad, I am more convinced than before.”
For your information, Lionel Messi and his family recently went through a painful loss after the footballer’s father, Jorge Messi, died at the age of 68 at a medical clinic in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina. He had been battling an illness for some time, which led to his death.
