Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi has announced his decision to leave the Argentina national team, calling the move painful but believing it is the right time to step away from the squad. He made this announcement via his Instagram account.
In his message, Messi wrote: 'After long consideration, I want to inform everyone that I am leaving the national team. It was a difficult decision, and it still hurts me deeply inside, but I understand that now is the right time.'
During his career with the Argentina national team, Messi played 207 matches and scored 125 goals, setting national records. Furthermore, the forward participated in six World Cups.
He is the 2022 World Cup champion, as well as a two-time silver medalist in the World Cup in 2014 and 2026, an Olympic Games champion in 2008, and a two-time Copa América winner in 2021 and 2024. Messi also holds the record for the number of Ballon d'Or awards he has won.
Since 2023, Messi has been playing for Inter Miami in the USA. Before moving to the North American league, the Argentine played for Spanish club Barcelona and French club Paris Saint-Germain. With Barcelona, he won the Champions League title four times, as well as the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup three times each.
Messi had previously announced the end of his international career. After Argentina's defeat by Chile in the 2016 Copa América final, he stated his intention to cease his international activities, but he returned to the national team two months later.
It is reported that the letter announcing Messi's end of international career was drafted on July 21st but was only published now. The footballer's post about leaving the Argentina national team received 2.4 million likes within the first hour.