“I swear I always gave everything, not just in the last few years when we won everything, but before that too. Argentine legend Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football on Monday. I always fought and gave my all for this shirt.”
The 39-year-old attacker, who won the 2022 FIFA World Cup, said the decision to retire “hurt and still hurts deep in my soul.
“It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep in my soul, but I understand that it is the right time,” Messi wrote on Instagram.
Argentine legend Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football on Monday. The 39-year-old attacker, who won the 2022 FIFA World Cup, said the decision to retire “hurt and still hurts deep in my soul.”
# He reached his 200th cap in the tournament opener against Algeria at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where he also scored his first World Cup hat-trick. # The only player in history to score in the World Cup group stage, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final. # First player to score in nine consecutive World Cup matches (a streak spanning 2022-2026), surpassing the previous record of six held jointly by Just Fontaine and Jairzinho. # A record 21 goals in FIFA World Cup history. # Oldest outfield player ever to appear in a World Cup final (39 years, 25 days) and the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick (38 years, 357 days). # Won a record five Player of the Match awards in a single World Cup (2026).
