For two decades, Lionel Messi built his story with the Argentina national team, accompanied by his father, Jorge. From the teenager who joined the national squad to the captain who lifted the sport’s greatest trophies, there was a family presence that crossed every stage of his career. Now, after his father’s death, Messi announced a decision he had already begun to consider in silence.
There is something in Lionel Messi’s latest message that makes it even more moving. The captain of the Argentina national team announced his retirement from the national squad, yet he also revealed that the words he posted had been written long beforehand.
“These words I wrote on July 21, two days after the final,” he explained. And he added: “Today, after what happened with my dad, I am more convinced than ever.”
Thus, the decision did not emerge overnight. Messi had already begun quietly saying goodbye to the national team. But Jorge’s passing ultimately reaffirmed something the footballer had been processing.
Messi and His Father: a Story That Began Long Before the Glory
When Messi began shaping his professional career, Jorge was close at every step. He was one of the pivotal figures during his early years and accompanied from the start the path that would lead his son to the Argentina national team.
In 2005, when Lionel debuted with the Argentina jersey, he was barely 18 years old. He was still a young player beginning to make his mark among the greats and carrying enormous expectations.
Beyond that player who was starting to gain worldwide recognition stood his family. And Jorge was a constant presence throughout a career that still had its most important chapters ahead.
Twenty Years of Joys, Frustrations, and Finals
Messi’s story with the national team was not always synonymous with triumphs. For years he had to endure criticism, comparisons, and the pressure of delivering Argentina titles that he had already won in Europe. Final losses arrived—the 2015 Copa America, the 2016 Copa America Centenario, and that moment when he briefly stepped away from the national team.
Jorge was also present during those difficult years, when Messi’s relationship with the national team seemed to be at its most troubled. But the story changed. In 2021 came the Copa America. Then the Finalissima. And in 2022, the World Cup in Qatar.
Finally, in 2024, Messi lifted the Copa America again with Argentina. By then, that tale that began with a boy who dreamed of playing for his country had become one of the most significant careers in the history of football.
The Detail of the Letter Messi Had Kept
That’s why one of the most important lines in his recent post appears near the end. Messi explained that he had written the farewell message on July 21, just two days after that final.
However, he did not publish those words at that time. He kept them. And he moved forward.
Until his father’s death changed again how he viewed that decision.
“Today, after what happened with my dad, I am more convinced than ever”
That is arguably the line that weighs the most within the entire message.
Messi did not claim that his retirement was a direct consequence of Jorge’s death. But he did make clear that, after losing his father, he is even more convinced of the decision he had already made.
After twenty years with the national team, the idea of closing that chapter takes on a new dimension.
Jorge was present at the outset. He accompanied the journey, the difficulties, and the moments of glory. And now, when Messi decides to bring his story with the Argentine jersey to a close, his father is no longer there to see it.
“I Gave It All, I Have Nothing Left to Give”
In his farewell, Messi also spoke about everything he left inside the national team.
“I swear I always gave my all, not just in the final years when we won everything, but I fought and gave everything for this shirt,” he wrote.
And then he was even more direct: “I gave it all, I have nothing left to give.”
There are no reproaches in his words. Instead, there is a sense of closure.
“There is little left to go and chapters are closing, and this is one that hurts me a lot. I loved, I love, and I will always love being part of the national team,” he wrote.
A Farewell That Is Also a Way of Saying Thanks
Messi expressed gratitude to his teammates, coaches, administrators, and, especially, his family.
He recalled “this beautiful but difficult journey” and spoke of the memories he carries after so many years.
He also envisioned what his place will be from now on:
“Now I’m going to be one of you, cheering and supporting from outside.”
It’s a vision hard to imagine after two decades wearing the Argentine jersey.
A Story That Began With His Father
For twenty years, Lionel Messi and the national team formed a story written on stadiums around the world. But behind that journey was also a family story.
Jorge stood by his son from the earliest steps to seeing him fulfill with Argentina some of the dreams that once seemed impossible.
Now Messi decides to close that chapter.
The letter he had written two days after that final stayed tucked away until today. And when he finally chose to share it, he did so with a new certainty, shaped by his father’s absence.
Perhaps that is why, among all the thanks, there is a sentence that best captures what wearing the Argentine jersey for these 20 years meant to him:
“Thank you, God, for making me Argentine.”
And then, as always, a final word for the national team:
“Go Argentina!”
