Messi Has Left Argentina. What Happens to a Country That Built an Era Around Him?

Lionel Messi had already written his goodbye before Argentina knew there was a goodbye to read.

On July 21, two days after Argentina lost the 2026 World Cup final to Spain, Messi wrote the message announcing his decision to leave the national team of which he did not publish then.

His father, Jorge Messi, died on August 8 and when he finally released the letter on August 31, he said that loss had left him even more certain about the decision.

At 39, after more than two decades representing Argentina, Messi is done with international football.

He is not retiring from football altogether as he still remains a club player with Inter Miami.

Messi leaves as Argentina's most-capped player and leading scorer, with 207 appearances and 125 goals. He played in six World Cups and won the 2022 World Cup and Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024.

The decision was already made

The 1–0 defeat could easily be mistaken for the moment that pushed him out but he had already made the decision and waited before making it public.

He explained that he felt he had given everything to Argentina and that younger players deserved their chance and his farewell was marked by affection for the national team.

“I leave with the peace of mind and pride of having given you, along with my teammates — moments we once only dreamed of,”he wrote.

There was no bitterness in the message as he was closing a chapter that had already given him almost everything he had once been criticised for not winning.

Argentina had to learn how to love Messi

Being Messi in Argentina was not always easy.

He arrived in the senior national team with Barcelona already making him a global star, but that only sharpened the comparisons at home. People could see what he was doing in Spain and wanted the same player in the blue and white shirt.

Maradona made that comparison serious. He had won the 1986 World Cup and become part of Argentina's national identity. Messi was the next extraordinary Argentine footballer, so the comparison continued for years.

Argentina also kept losing finals.Germany beat them in the 2014 World Cup final, Chile beat them on penalties in the 2015 Copa América final. Chile did it again in the 2016 Copa América Centenario final.

Messi missed Argentina's first penalty in that shootout.

At 29, he announced that he was retiring from international football.

Sixty-six days later, he changed his mind and returned.

The first major senior trophy finally came in 2021, when Argentina beat Brazil at the Maracanã to win the Copa América.

That victory changed the way much of the country viewed Messi and the international trophy that had been missing from his career finally came.

Then Argentina Finally Got What It Wanted

The Copa América was followed by the 2022 Finalissima against Italy.

Messi then led Argentina through the 2022 World Cup, scoring seven goals as they beat France in the final. Argentina won another Copa América in 2024.

Then came one last World Cup in 2026.

Argentina reached the final again, only for Spain to win 1–0 after extra time, but still, Messi had an extraordinary tournament, scoring eight goals and providing four assists.

Across his six World Cup appearances, he scored 21 goals, second only to Kylian Mbappé on the tournament's all-time scoring list.

The MetLife Stadium connection is hard to ignore.

In 2016, Messi stood inside the stadium after losing another final to Chile.Ten years later, he returned to the same stadium for another final.

By then, he had already won the World Cup and two Copa Américas, he was no longer arriving at a final with the same unfinished story hanging over him.

Argentina now has to play without him

The Argentine Football Association responded to Messi's retirement with “Gracias eternas, Leo.” His teammates followed with their own tributes. Enzo Fernández, who grew up idolising Messi and later played alongside him for Argentina, was among those who publicly thanked his former captain.

Argentina now has to work out how the team functions without its No. 10.

Messi could create a chance from nothing, draw defenders out of position, finish an attack himself or find a teammate nobody else had seen. Those responsibilities will now have to be shared.

Julián Álvarez, Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister are already established parts of the generation that played alongside him. There are younger players coming through too, and Argentina still has a strong squad.

Messi spent years being measured against Maradona, his successors will now face comparisons with Messi.

They will have to make the team theirs.

Messi's last game for Argentina has been played. The records will remain, along with the World Cup, the Copa Américas, the losses, the comeback in 2016 and the return to the same stadium ten years later.

For the first time in more than 20 years, Argentina will play on without him.