Lionel Messi lost his father on August 8. Jorge Messi, his dad and, for years, his agent too, passed away at 68 in Rosario after being sick for a while.
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Three weeks later, on Monday, Messi announced his international retirement through his Instagram account, @leomessi. At the age of 39, the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner has decided to retire from Argentina.
The post was actually a handwritten note Messi wrote back on July 21, just two days after Argentina lost the World Cup final to Spain. But he added a footnote that explained why he was posting it now. He wrote, “Today, after what happened with my dad, I am even more convinced than before.”
Messi also explained the difficulty of the decision in the same post, as he wrote, it “hurt, and still hurts deeply.” But he was clear that he had given Argentina everything he had over the past 20 years, through the rough patches and through the years they won everything.
Messi walks away as Argentina’s all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, with 125 goals in 207 appearances. That includes the 2021 Copa America, the 2022 World Cup, and a second Copa title in 2024.
Fans didn’t hold back on that same Instagram post. The comments were full of farewells, gratitude, and a lot of people who just seemed heartbroken.
“THE GAME WILL NEVER BE THE SAME 💔😢,” a fan wrote.
Fans felt like this isn’t just one player retiring, but the end of an era for international football.
“That’s Hurt Leo,” another fan commented.
That comment lines up with what Messi himself said, and the decision reflects the feelings of fans as well.
“Thank you Leo for sharing your magic with us 😭🤍,” one more heartfelt message.
Fans have been with him for 20 years, and comments like these show it.
“Gracias Leo, we love you forever❤️,” a fan wrote.
“Gracias,” which just means thank you in Spanish, being grateful to Messi for the kind of career he had.
“Sad to see it end, but we were lucky enough to live in the same lifetime as the greatest ever and witness him do what only he could 🐐”
Another comment called him the greatest to ever play the game. Hard to argue, considering he’s South America’s all-time top scorer.
For a generation raised on Messi’s Argentina run, the retirement closes a chapter few expected to end this way.