Lionel Messi left the international stage in fitting fashion, with a goal, a dazzling display and an emotional speech in which he admitted he “didn’t want this moment to end”.
After his 208th and final appearance for Argentina, a 3-0 win over Benin that bordered on an exhibition game for much of the evening, Messi spoke from the heart to express his difficulty at having to walk away.
The 39-year-old, who scored a second-half penalty and added two assists against generous opposition, said: “There are so many emotions going through me right now. I’m surely forgetting many things I would like to say because this is a very difficult moment for me. The first person who comes to my mind is my dad.
“I leave grateful, proud and at peace. Thank you for everything.”
World Cup final defeat and death of father persuaded Messi to quit
Messi opted to retire from Argentina duty after the World Cup final defeat to Spain was followed by the death of his father Jorge. He leaves having scored 126 Argentina goals and helped his country to lift the World Cup and two Copas America.
“I have nothing left to do but thank this shirt,” he added.
“For 20 years, even through the worst moments, I never stopped fighting, pushing forward, giving everything I had and wanting to be here.
“Not coming here any more and no longer being with the Argentina national team is going to hurt a lot. If it were up to me, I would love to be here for my entire life, because playing for Argentina is the most beautiful thing there is.
“I think I’m talking more than ever today because I simply don’t want this moment to end.
“But I think the time has come for me to retire. The last World Cup took a lot out of us after everything we went through. We arrived in the final with just enough left in us, but we fought until the very end, like we always did.
“We came very close to winning it again, and despite everything that was said about us, nothing strange happened. The match against England took a lot out of us because we gave absolutely everything.
“In 2022, we had the dream of fulfilling not only my dream, but the dream of an entire country: becoming world champions again. And we did it.”
Messi’s Argentina tale one of perseverance
Many of his team-mates openly wept as Messi spoke, reflecting on an international career that started with a red card a minute into his debut against Hungary in 2005 and ended at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
In between, his Argentina journey was one of two halves. The first saw him struggle for acceptance from a public that watched Messi leave for Europe aged 13 and become a focal point for Barcelona.
He struggled to live up to comparisons with Diego Maradona and, following a fourth final defeat in nine years, Messi retired from international football in 2016 after missing in a penalty shoot-out as Argentina lost the Copa America final to Chile.
He was persuaded to return but his Argentina career did not really take off until the appointment of Lionel Scaloni as coach. Scaloni found a way to build around Messi and win trophies with two Copas America and, most importantly, the 2022 World Cup all falling Argentina’s way.
The 2026 World Cup was a collective disappointment – Argentina’s behaviour in the final casting a shadow over their run to the final – but Messi shone throughout the tournament despite his advancing years.
Scaloni hails Messi as the ‘best in history’
Scaloni said after the game: “It’s been a dream come true. I never thought I’d be the coach of the best footballer in history.
“We are eternally grateful to him for giving us the opportunity to be with him.
“The tears are because so many things are going through my head. Not seeing him any more will be sad. He leaves us with an incredible legacy.
“The feeling of having him on your side is incomparable. I’ve never seen that aura in anyone else in my life.”
Messi is expected to make a swift return to the United States where he is scheduled to play for Inter Miami against DC United on Saturday night.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
