​Since his brief retirement from Argentina in 2016, Lionel Messi has done nothing but dominate originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Lionel Messi stood just a few feet away, behind a barrier and under the television lights, when he issued the declaration that might have changed modern soccer forever. It wasn’t clear he had made history at the moment, because he spoke in Spanish and that was long before we all had Google Translate apps on our phones.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUpon returning to the press box less than an hour after Argentina had fallen to Chile on penalty kicks in the final of Copa America Centenario, I found the full text of his quote and used a computer program to translate it to English.“The national team is ended for me,” Messi said on that night 10 years ago in a tunnel at the ground level of Met Life Stadium. “It is not for me, after four finals. It is the decision I’ve made, I believe that, yes.”It’s astounding to consider what has happened since Messi “retired” from international soccer at age 29 in June 2016, and perhaps even more fascinating to wonder what the sport would be like if he never had returned to Argentina’s squad.2026 WORLD CUP HQ:Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup ticketsAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFrom the day in 2005 when he made his national team debut and continuing for more than a decade, Messi had carried the burden of trying to bring Argentina its first World Cup title since 1986 and its first Copa America since 1993.Although he was winning almost routinely with FC Barcelona at the club game’s highest levels – eight La Liga titles over rival Real Madrid, four UEFA Champions Leagues, five Ballon d’Or wins as the world’s greatest player – the absence of international trophies led many in his native country to dismiss him as unworthy of comparison to the great Maradona. Some publicly doubted his commitment to Argentina, as he’d left for Spain as a teenager and Barca’s La Masia academy.The pain of coming so close so many times and failing was too great for Messi in that moment.MORE: Messi, Mbappe tied for Golden Boot leadAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It was the thing I wanted most, but I couldn’t get it, so I think it’s over,” Messi said that night. “I think this is best for everyone. First of all for me, then for everyone.“I think there’s a lot of people who want this, who obviously are not satisfied, as we are not satisfied reaching a final and not winning it. It’s very hard, but the decision is taken. Now, I will not try more, and there will be not more going back.”Going back didn’t take long. He returned to the national team lineup three months later.So obviously unretired now, Messi and Argentina face a semifinal Wednesday against England in Atlanta. If they win there, they’ll travel back to New Jersey’s Meadowlands for