One of the greatest careers in the history of sports has officially come to an end.
Lionel Messi is retiring from international soccer.
After more than two decades representing Argentina, Messi is walking away from the national team and closing the book on a career that completely changed how he will be remembered.
Because for the longest time, there was always one thing missing from Messi’s résumé.
Winning with Argentina.
Nobody questioned what Messi accomplished at the club level, but his international career was constantly compared to Diego Maradona’s. The losses only made that criticism louder.
Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup Final, Messi suffered multiple heartbreaking Copa América defeats and he even briefly retired from international soccer in 2016.
For a while, it looked like Messi might somehow finish his career without ever winning a major trophy for his country.
Then everything changed.
Messi finally broke through by winning the 2021 Copa América, defeating Brazil in the final and capturing his first major senior international trophy.
But the moment that truly changed everything came one year later.
Messi finally won the World Cup.
Argentina’s incredible run through the 2022 World Cup ended with Messi lifting the trophy after one of the greatest World Cup Finals ever played.
At that point, there really wasn’t anything left for him to prove.
Messi later added another Copa América title in 2024, further cementing one of the greatest international careers soccer has ever seen.
And now it’s finally over.
Messi leaves behind a career that went from international heartbreak to ultimately accomplishing everything there was to accomplish.
He didn’t just win with Argentina.
He became an Argentine legend.
There will always be arguments about Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Maradona and who deserves to be called the greatest soccer player ever.
But after everything Messi accomplished with Argentina, there isn’t much left anyone can hold against him.
The greatest era of Argentine soccer has officially come to an end.
