​🚨 Lionel Messi announces his international retirement!Thunderbolt on the football planet!Lionel Messi has just announced his international retirement on his Instagram account this Monday evening!La Pulga will no longer wear the Argentina national team shirt, meaning the 1-0 loss to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final last July was the last match of his international career.207 caps, 125 goals scored, 68 assists delivered; one World Cup, two Copa Américas: Lionel Messi bids farewell to his country as an absolute, untouchable legend.21 years after his very first cap, the number 10 thus brings one of the most memorable chapters in football history to a close.Lionel Messi’s statement:”Today, after what happened to my father, I am even more convinced than before.After all this time since the final, after thinking about it a lot, I want to announce to everyone that I am retiring from international football…It is a decision that hurt me and still hurts me deep down, but I understand that this is the right time. I swear to you that I have always given everything. Not only in these past few years when we won everything, but before that too. I always fought and gave everything for this shirt, to bring you joy and make you proud to be Argentine through football.There is little time left and the chapters are gradually closing. This one is especially painful for me. I love, have loved, and will always love being part of the national team. I have given everything, I have nothing left to give, and behind me there are great young players coming through who deserve to be there.Thank you for all the love you have given me over these 20 years. I am going to miss hearing your support from the inside enormously. From now on, I will be one of you, cheering and supporting the team from the outside, in the good times and the bad, and even more so in the bad.Thank you to my family for always being there and for accompanying me on this journey that was as beautiful as it was difficult. Thank you to every coach, teammate, and official I had the good fortune to meet. I leave with unforgettable memories and moments lived.I leave with the peace and pride of having given you, together with my teammates, moments we had dreamed of. It was crazy to live all of this with you.I love you!Thank you my God for making me Argentine.VAMOS ARGENTINA!”This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.