BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football on Monday after a trophy-laden career spanning more than two decades.
Messi, 39, made the announcement on social media, explaining that he made the decision two days after Argentina's World Cup final defeat to Spain in July.
"It was a decision that hurt - and still hurts deep down - but I understand that the time has come," he wrote.
He departs as Argentina's record holder for both appearances and goals, having played 207 games and scored 125 times, 21 of them at World Cups. Only long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo has more international goals, with 146 for Portugal.
Messi briefly held the record for career World Cup goals during this year's tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, before being overtaken by France's Kylian Mbappe.
The announcement marks the second time that Messi has called an end to his international career. He briefly walked away from the national team in 2016 after Argentina lost three straight major finals, including that year's defeat to Chile in the Copa America final in which he missed an attempt in the penalty shootout.
A public push from Diego Maradona and Argentina's then-president Mauricio Macri helped bring him back.
The comeback paid off. Messi won his first major trophy with Argentina at the 2021 Copa America, then led the team to the World Cup title in Qatar in 2022 - when he won the Golden Ball award for the tournament's best player - before adding a second Copa America crown in 2024.
Messi's decision came less than a month after the death of his father, Jorge, in the family's hometown of Rosario.
"I always fought and left everything on the field for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football," Messi wrote, adding that he has "nothing left to give" at the international level and that a new generation of young players deserves the chance to represent the country.
He will continue playing for Inter Miami, where he continues to impress in the MLS, having scored four times in a 7-1 win over Montreal on Saturday. Messi did not say how much longer he plans to play at club level.
The Argentine Football Association paid tribute on Instagram, thanking Messi "for giving us the most beautiful journey of our lives" and calling his legacy something that "will remain forever etched" in the country's football history.
Messi closed his own statement by thanking supporters for backing him over 21 years.
"I leave with the peace of mind and pride of having given you - alongside my teammates - moments we once only dreamed of," he wrote.
Messi is an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and is widely regarded, alongside Maradona and Pele, as one of the greatest players in the sport's history.
"He is pure history," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said of him during this year's World Cup. "A legend." ■
