Messi was 18 the first time he put on Argentina’s shirt. He was 39 the last time.
In between, there was a bit of everything. There was a country that compared him to Maradona before he had said a single word. There were finals lost, in 2014 and in two consecutive Copa América tournaments, and a phrase that hurt more than any defeat: “It’s incredible, but it just doesn’t happen for me”. He left the national team one day. He returned the next.
What followed was a reconquest. Copa América in 2021, Finalissima in 2022, the World Cup in Qatar weeks later, another Copa América in 2024. Four titles in three years, after fifteen without any.
On August 31, 2026, he wrote a letter. Argentina had just lost the World Cup final to Spain, and weeks earlier his father, Jorge, had died. “It was a decision that hurt and hurts deep in my soul, but I understand that it is time”, he wrote. “I gave everything I had; I have nothing left to give.”
He leaves the national team as the player with the most appearances in its history, more than 200. As its all-time top scorer, with 125 goals. As its all-time leader in assists. In his last World Cup, at almost 39 years old, he was still the player who provided the most goals and assists for his team.
He did not win the last final. He won all the ones that mattered before.