How Messi's decade of dominance almost never happened
August 31, 2026 18:24
Lionel Messi has retired from international football, leaving Argentina as the nation's all-time top scorer and most-capped player. His international captaincy included winning the World Cup in Qatar 2022 and Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024.
The decision closes a career that almost ended in 2016 when, two days after turning 29 and following a penalty miss in Argentina’s Copa América final defeat to Chile, Messi announced he was quitting the national team. He reversed that decision on 12 August 2016 and went on to feature 94 more times for Argentina, scoring 70 additional goals and collecting four major trophies after the U-turn.
KEY CONTEXT
- At the time of his 2016 retirement announcement Messi had made 113 appearances for Argentina and was visibly distraught after another final defeat; Argentina had also lost the 2014 World Cup final and Copa América finals in 2007 and 2015 prior to that moment.