Lionel Messi announces retirement from international football

Soccer great Lionel Messi has announced he is retiring from international football.

Messi posted on Instagram in Spanish, but it was translated as the decision “hurts me a lot,” and he understands “the time has come,” the BBC reported.

Messi’s Argentinian team lost to Spain in the World Cup final earlier this year 1-0, ESPN reported. He led the team to a win in the 2022 World Cup, Argentina’s first title in 36 years and its third overall.

He said that he had written the handwritten note featured in the post on July 21st, but after the death of his father on Aug. 8, “I am even more convinced than before,” according to ESPN.

Story continues below Trending Shorts

Messi is Argentina’s leading goal scorer with 124 goals in 203 games for the team. He’s also the highest-scoring man in South American football.

He had previously retired from international soccer in 2016, but reversed the decision before the 2022 World Cup, ESPN reported. In all, he played in six World Cups and is the all-time leading scorer in the World Cup’s history, NBC News reported.

Messi is still on the MLS club Inter Miami, according to NBC News.

0 of 28

©2026 Cox Media Group