Lionel Messi, Argentina's captain and the country's all-time leading goalscorer, announced his retirement from the national team on August 31, ending a 20-year international career in a heartfelt letter posted on his social media accounts.

The 39-year-old forward said the decision had been taken shortly after Argentina's defeat by Spain in a final on July 19, and had been further reinforced by the death of his father in the weeks that followed.

"After all this time that has passed since the final, and after much thought, I want to announce to everyone that I am retiring from the national team," Messi wrote, in a missive accompanied by a video message.

He described the decision as one that "hurt and still hurts deeply", but said he believed the time was right to step aside. "I swear I always gave my all, not just in the last few years when we won everything, but before that too, and I always fought and gave everything for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you proud to be Argentinian through football," he said.

Messi said he was leaving space for a new generation of players. "There's not much time left, and chapters are closing, and this is one that hurts a lot. I love, loved, and will always love being on the national team. I've given it my all; I have nothing more to give, and besides, there are some great young players coming up behind me who deserve to be there," he wrote.

He thanked supporters for two decades of backing, saying he would now follow the team "from the outside". He also thanked his family, describing his trophy-laden international career as a "beautiful but difficult journey", as well as the coaches, teammates and officials he worked with over the years.

Messi said the letter had originally been written on July 21, two days after the final, but that he had waited to publish it. "Today, after what happened to my dad, I am more convinced than before," he wrote. He closed the message: "Thank you God for making me Argentinian. Go Argentina!"

Record-breaking career

Messi leaves the national team as its most capped player and all-time top scorer, with 207 appearances, 125 goals and 68 assists, surpassing the previous scoring record held by Gabriel Batistuta.

He made his senior debut for Argentina in August 2005 as a substitute in a friendly against Hungary in Budapest, and was sent off 40 seconds later. Before that match, he had captained Argentina to victory at the 2005 Under-20 World Cup in the Netherlands, finishing as top scorer with six goals and winning the Golden Ball.

His first senior goal came on March 1, 2006 against Croatia, and he went on to become the youngest player to represent and score for Argentina at a World Cup, at the 2006 tournament in Germany, where the team was eliminated in the quarter-finals by the host nation.

Messi was named Argentina's captain in 2011 and subsequently led the team to three consecutive finals in major tournaments. Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany 1-0 in extra time in Rio de Janeiro, with Messi nonetheless awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. Defeats followed in the finals of the 2015 and 2016 Copa América, both on penalties, the second of which prompted Messi to announce his retirement from international football at the time, a decision he reversed weeks later.

After a disappointing 2018 World Cup, in which Argentina were eliminated in the round of 16, Messi ended a 16-year wait for a major title with Argentina's 2021 Copa América win over Brazil at the Maracanã, with the only goal scored by Ángel Di María. Argentina went on to win the Finalissima against Italy at Wembley in June 2022, before Messi captained the side to the World Cup title in Qatar later that year, a tournament in which he scored seven goals and provided three assists. He was named the tournament's best player, becoming the first man to win the award twice, having also received it in 2014.

Argentina retained the Copa América title in 2024, and Messi made his sixth and final World Cup appearance this year at the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, scoring eight goals and providing four assists. He finished his World Cup career with 21 goals across six editions, the second-highest tally in the competition's history behind France's Kylian Mbappé.