BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA / RankWire.AI / – Lionel Messi has retired from international football after 21 years with Argentina’s senior team. The 39-year-old ends his national team career with 207 appearances and 125 goals, both national records. Messi’s international honors include the 2022 World Cup and Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024. His retirement, announced on August 31, 2026, closes a career that stretched across six World Cups and three appearances in the tournament final.
Messi’s last international tournament ended with Argentina reaching the 2026 World Cup final in New Jersey. Spain won the match 1-0 after extra time, denying Argentina a second consecutive world title. Messi had previously reached the final in 2014 and lifted the trophy in Qatar in 2022. He wrote his retirement message shortly after the 2026 final. Messi later published it following the death of his father, Jorge Messi, in August.
The closing years of Messi’s Argentina career brought the major trophies that had long eluded him at senior level. Argentina captured the Copa América in 2021, giving Messi his first senior international championship. The team added the Finalissima in 2022 before winning the World Cup later that year. Messi then helped Argentina secure another Copa América title in 2024. The sequence gave him four senior international trophies before his final World Cup appearance in 2026.
Two decades of records and major titles
Messi debuted for Argentina’s senior side in 2005 at age 18 and became the country’s most-capped player. He also finished as Argentina’s leading goalscorer, reaching 125 goals across 207 matches. His six World Cup appearances spanned tournaments from 2006 through 2026. Messi won the World Cup Golden Ball in 2014 and again in 2022. He became the first player to receive that award twice, adding another distinction to a career defined by longevity and production.
The Argentine Football Association marked Messi’s retirement after more than two decades of service to the national team. Messi had also stepped away from international football once before, following the 2016 Copa América Centenario final. He returned later that year and remained Argentina’s captain through its most successful recent period. His return preceded the titles in 2021, 2022 and 2024, as well as another World Cup final appearance in 2026.
Club football continues after international retirement
Messi remains an active professional player despite ending his Argentina career. Inter Miami has him under contract through the end of the 2028 Major League Soccer season. His retirement announcement followed a standout club performance on August 29. Messi scored four goals and added an assist in a 7-1 victory over CF Montréal. The match gave him his first four-goal regular-season performance in MLS and raised his 2026 league total to 18 goals.
Messi leaves international football as Argentina’s record appearance holder, record scorer and a World Cup-winning captain. His national team career began in 2005 and concluded after the 2026 World Cup final. During that span, he experienced tournament defeats before leading Argentina through a period of repeated championship success. The 2021 Copa América ended a long senior title drought, while the 2022 World Cup delivered Argentina’s third global crown. Messi’s international career is over, but his club career continues in Major League Soccer.