A boy from Rosario, Argentina, who went on to become a soccer maestro has finally called an off to his International career, a stint that had many emotionally connecting and rooting for him in every four years during the FIFA World Cups. But now that Lionel Messi moves away from representing his nation, former NFL star Robert Griffin III shares what Messi meant for him and his family.

“Messi is the Greatest of All-Time,” Griffin captioned an X post. “It’s sad that he has retired from international play representing his country of Argentina. But his legacy isn’t found in how many goals he has scored. It’s in how he impacts, influences, and inspires us all. Our little girls are the proof ❤️.”

Like any other soccer fan, Robert Griffin III is quite fond of Lionel Messi. In 2015, the former NFL quarterback met Messi while he was playing for the Washington Redskins. Argentina’s national team traveled to the Washington, D.C., area for a 2015 friendly against El Salvador at FedExField in Landover, Maryland.

That is when Messi and his teammates trained at FedEx Field, the home stadium of the Redskins (now Commanders), where Griffin, alongside NHL star Alex Ovechkin, attended the training session to watch Messi practice, and even later presented soccer maestro with a custom No. 10 Washington jersey personalized with Messi’s name.

Over the years, Griffin’s respect for the Argentinian only grew, especially after he joined Inter Miami CF in 2023. Messi’s move to Inter Miami in 2023 gave American fans, including Griffin, a closer look at what makes him stand out. To that end, Griffin often sang high praises of the 39-year-old soccer star.

“Lionel Messi is the Michael Jordan of Football,” Griffin posted on X in June 2026. “No one compares to him.”

Michael Jordan arguably stands as the ultimate benchmark for athletic perfection, clutch performances, and winning willpower. Just as Jordan entirely ruled the NBA landscape in the 1990s with his six championship rings, Messi has also checked off every possible achievement in global football.

From his record eight Ballon d’Or trophies to multiple Champions League titles (four), and ultimately, his historic FIFA World Cup triumph (2022), Messi achieved the exact type of legacy-sealing greatness that Jordan did on the basketball court. Due to this, Griffin even believes Messi’s Argentinian has great respect for him.

“Argentina ride or dies for Messi,” RG3 wrote on X.

Now, after 21 years of senior age stint, where he made 207 appearances and racked up 125 goals and 60 assists, Lionel Messi announced retirement from his International career on August 31.

“After the time that has passed since the final, and after thinking about it a lot, I want to let everyone know that I am retiring from the national team,” Messi captioned an Instagram post. “It was a decision that hurt, and still hurts deeply, but I understand that the time has come. I swear that I always gave everything, not only in the recent years when we won it all, but before that as well. I always fought and gave everything for this shirt, to bring you joy and make you proud to be Argentine through football.”

As revealed in the video posted, for Robert Griffin III and his children (four daughters, Reese Ann, Gloria, Gameya, and Gia), Lionel Messi acted as an source of inspiration, an athlete who was once diagnosed with Growth Hormone Deficiency at the age of 11 to becoming one of the stand outs in soccer world.

However, Messi, who is still signed to Inter Miami CF, will continue his club career, where Griffin and his family would be able to watch the maestro work his magic on the soccer field.