Argentina to Messi: You Gave Us the Most Beautiful Journey, and We Will Keep You in Our Hearts Forever
Al-Taj News – Argentine star Lionel Messi announced on Monday that he is ending his international career with his national team, bringing to an end a journey that lasted more than two decades, during which he led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title and two Copa América titles, before reaching the 2026 World Cup final.
The 39-year-old Messi said in a post on his Instagram account that the decision was “painful,” but that he realized “the time had come,” stressing that he had given everything he had for the national team jersey and that a new generation of young players deserved the opportunity to continue the journey.
Messi leaves the Argentine national team as its most-capped player and all-time leading scorer, with 125 goals in 207 international appearances, after transforming a career filled with disappointments into one of the most successful stories in the history of the national team.
After losing the 2014 World Cup final and the 2015 and 2016 Copa América finals, Messi won his first international title with Argentina at the 2021 Copa América, before leading the team to the World Cup title in Qatar in 2022, followed by the 2024 Copa América.
The loss of the 2026 World Cup final to Spain denied him the opportunity to end his international career by lifting the World Cup for a second time. However, his legacy with the national team had already been firmly established after he emerged from the shadow of his compatriot Diego Maradona to forge his own place among the legends of Argentine football.
Messi said, “I leave feeling at peace and proud because, alongside my teammates, I gave you moments that were once merely dreams we hoped to achieve.”
The Argentine Football Association responded with a message on Instagram saying, “Thank you for giving us the most beautiful journey we have ever experienced,” affirming that Messi’s legacy and what he embodied of “professionalism, dedication, and commitment” will remain forever etched in the hearts of Argentines, concluding its message by saying, “Thank you, captain. We love you.”
