{"id":41051,"date":"2026-08-31T17:07:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T17:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo4.dedicatedhost247.com\/news\/lionel-messi-says-he-is-retiring-from-the-argentina-national-soccer-team-i-leave-with-the-peace-of-mind\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T17:07:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T17:07:22","slug":"lionel-messi-says-he-is-retiring-from-the-argentina-national-soccer-team-i-leave-with-the-peace-of-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo4.dedicatedhost247.com\/news\/lionel-messi-says-he-is-retiring-from-the-argentina-national-soccer-team-i-leave-with-the-peace-of-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi says he is retiring from the Argentina national soccer team: “I leave with the peace of mind”"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Soccer great Lionel Messi<\/a> is hanging up his boots for the Argentina national team \u2014 ending nearly two decades representing the country.<\/p>\n

Messi played in six World Cups and led Argentina to win the tournament in 2022 in Qatar. This summer, he and the Argentina squad made it to the final, losing to Spain<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

“It was a decision that hurt \u2014 and still hurts deeply \u2014 but I understand that the time has come,” Messi said in an Instagram<\/a> post Monday. “I swear to you that I always gave it my all\u2014 not just in these last few years when we won everything, but before that too; I always fought and left everything on the field for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football.”<\/p>\n

The announcement comes just weeks after his father, Jorge Messi, died<\/a><\/span> on Aug. 8, at the age of 68.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his post Monday, Messi explained that he wrote his retirement letter on June 21 \u2014 two days after losing the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

After his father’s passing, Messi said he “didn’t know how to keep going. All I ever did was play soccer and now I have serious doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer.”<\/p>\n

On Monday he wrote, “Today, after everything with my dad, I am even more convinced than before.”<\/p>\n

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\"Spain<\/span>

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Lionel Messi sheds tears as he watches Spanish players celebrate following the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match on July 19, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Maja Hitij – FIFA\/FIFA via Getty Images<\/p>\n

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The 39-year-old, who made his debut for Argentina’s senior national team in 2006, thanked fans in his post on Monday.<\/p>\n

“Thank you for all the love these past 20 years. I’m going to miss hearing you all from the inside so much. Now I’m going to be one of you, cheering and supporting you from the outside (through thick and thin, even more so),” Messi wrote.<\/p>\n

“I leave with the peace of mind and pride of having given you \u2014 along with my teammates \u2014 moments we once only dreamed of. Experiencing this with you was incredible. I love you all,” he added.<\/p>\n

Messi currently plays club soccer for Inter Miami after 17 seasons with Barcelona FC and a brief stint with Paris Saint-Germain. In his post, Messi did not say how long he will continue to play professional soccer.<\/p>\n

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The Associated Press<\/span><\/p>\n

contributed to this report.\n <\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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