Messi Bids Farewell to Argentina After 20 Years and Six World Cups

There's one moment that sums up Lionel Messi's last twenty years in Argentina's blue and white jersey better than any other: the missed penalty in the 2016 Copa America final against Chile. That blow led him to announce his first retirement. Nine years later, the Argentine captain said goodbye to the national team again, but this time the story ended differently: with a World Cup in the trophy case.

Messi confirmed his retirement from the Argentine national team this Monday, through a message posted on his Instagram account. The 39 year old forward closes out a run that began in 2006 and included six World Cups, a number that ties the record for most appearances in tournament history.

"It was a decision that hurt me and still hurts me deeply, but I understand that the time has come," Messi wrote in his letter. He added something that probably captures what wearing that jersey meant to him better than any statistic could: "I swear I always gave everything, not just in these recent years when we won everything, but before too. I always fought and left it all on the field for this jersey, to make you happy and proud to be Argentine through soccer."

It was a decision that hurt me and still hurts me deeply, but I understand that the time has come.Lionel Messi

Here's the curious part: the letter isn't from yesterday. Messi revealed he wrote it on June 21, just two days after the 2026 World Cup final, in which Argentina fell to Spain in extra time in New Jersey. He decided to hold onto it because his father, Jorge Messi, was going through a serious health situation at the time. Jorge died on August 8 in Rosario, the city where both were born.

From Frustration to Glory

It's hard to believe now, but Messi's journey with the national team was far from a constant celebration. He debuted in 2006 and spent years carrying the label of "the one who doesn't win with Argentina," through lost finals and that lingering thorn of the missed penalty against Chile. The turning point finally came in 2022, when he lifted the World Cup in Qatar at last. More titles followed with the Copa America, in both 2021 and 2024, and this year he led the team to another World Cup final.

Coach Lionel Scaloni, who had him under his charge in that final stretch, didn't hesitate to define him during the World Cup itself:

He's pure history. History. A legend.Lionel Scaloni

Messi gave no hints about how much longer he plans to keep playing at the club level. What is clear is that soccer still has him among the best: just this past weekend he scored four goals in Inter Miami's 7-1 rout of CF Montreal. He's also the reigning back-to-back Most Valuable Player in MLS with the league's championship team.

"Thank you for all the love these past 20 years," he closed in his letter. "I'm going to miss you a lot from the inside. Now I'll be one more among you, cheering and supporting from the outside, through good times and bad, even more so." With that, Messi leaves the national team just as he arrived: giving everything he had, right up to the last match.