Online Reporter
The 39-year-old bows out from playing for his country just weeks after contesting his third World Cup final.
Messi earned 207 international caps in total, having debuted under Jose Nestor Pekerman all the way back in 2005.
The former Barcelona superstar won four major trophies with Argentina; Copas America in 2021 and 2024, the Finalissima in 2022, and of course the World Cup in Qatar.
This latter success proved to be the crowning glory of Messi’s sensational career, as he scored twice in the final on the way to beating France on penalties.
In total, Messi scored 21 times in 34 World Cup games – placing him second all-time, only one behind leader Kylian Mbappe.
The Rosario icon scored 125 goals for Argentina, the second most in international football history.
In addition to his 21 World Cup strikes, Messi managed 14 at Copas America, 36 in qualifiers and 54 in friendlies.
His total tally only trails Cristiano Ronaldo, who has netted 146 times to date for Portugal.
Messi is also second to Ronaldo when it comes to international caps, his great rival having played 233 times for his country, compared to the Argentine’s tally of 207.
Last October, Messi recorded his 60th international assist, taking him above former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Neymar as the No1 goal provider in international football history.
He went on to extend his record further, finishing with 68 assists for his country.
In addition to his achievements for Argentina’s senior side, Messi also excelled in earning an Olympic gold at Beijing 2008.
The floppy-haired young Messi scored twice and assisted three in five games for Argentina’s U-23 Olympic side.
This run culminated in a 1-0 victory over Nigeria at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium in the gold medal match.
Upon announcing his international retirement, Messi said: “After all this time since the final, and after thinking about it a lot, I want to tell everyone that I’m retiring from the national team…”
“It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep inside, but I understand that this is the right moment.
“I swear I always gave everything, not only in these last few years when we won everything, but before that too.
“I always fought and gave everything for this shirt, to bring you happiness and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football.
“There isn’t much time left, and different chapters are coming to an end.
“This is one that hurts me a lot. I love, I loved, and I will always love being part of the national team. I gave everything I had, and I don’t have anything more to give.
“Also, there are great young players coming through who deserve to be here.” – Sun
