We all knew this day was coming, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. When the news arrived that Lionel Messi was retiring from international football, a collective gasp went around the globe as if all oxygen had been removed from the atmosphere. This wasn’t just the end of a career; it was a sudden stop to a 20-year epoch, that had defined how billions consumed sport.
The number 10 shirt for Argentina, carrying the baggage, heartbreak, and, eventual glorification of an entire nation, is now sitting dormant.
Bowing out as the King
The hardest reality to adjust to is the fact that Messi doesn't even have to do this. In fact, in the realm of legends, Messi’s act of hanging up his boots is completely unconventional. Typically, players retire due to age, decline in physical capabilities and inability to match the speed and tempo of the modern game.
Messi is redefining how players exit the professional stage.
He's stepping aside at the age of 39, having just single-handedly guiding Argentina to the World Cup final. At 39, He has been the most influential player on the pitch. He could've played another World Cup with the same dominance, adding more to his already substantial collection.
However, Messi opted to make his exit on his terms and at his apex, to crown a career that was so magnificent. He arrived with the ambition to succeed and retired as the conquering hero.
"I don't have anything else to offer"
The statement he put out to commemorate his exit should bring all fans to tears:
"After all this time since the final, and after thinking about it a lot, I want to tell everyone that I’m retiring from the national team.Lionel Messi
It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep inside, but I understand that this is the right moment.
I swear I always gave everything, not only in these last few years when we won everything, but before that too. I always fought and gave everything for this shirt, to bring you happiness and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football.
There isn’t much time left, and different chapters are coming to an end. This is one that hurts me a lot. I love, I loved, and I will always love being part of the national team. I gave everything I had, and I don’t have anything more to give.
Also, there are great young players coming through who deserve to be here.
Thank you for all the love during these 20 years. I’m going to miss hearing you from the inside. Now I’ll be one of you, always supporting from the outside, in the good times and even more in the bad ones.
Thank you to my family for always being there and for being with me throughout this beautiful but difficult journey. Thank you to every coach, teammate and director I had the chance to share it with. I take with me unforgettable memories and moments.
I leave with peace and pride, knowing that together with my teammates we gave you moments we once dreamed of. It was crazy to experience all of this with you. I love you!
Thank you God for making me Argentine.
Vamos Argentina!
I wrote these words on July 21, two days after the final. Today, after what happened with my dad, I’m even more convinced of this decision than before."
This was, I believe, Messi articulating the vast pressure he has been under for two decades. We saw the pain that he endured as he experienced loss time after time and the incessant criticisms from some football fanatics in Argentina for failing to provide salvation.
But this was Messi defying expectations and delivering what had once been a pipe dream-the Copa America, the Finalisima, and, to complete the set, football's most esteemed prize: the World Cup.
He’s fought in the trenches until the fuel gauge on the car was completely empty, and in return, delivered boundless ecstasy to his homeland.
The hole cannot be filled
It's impossible to overemphasize the void he leaves behind in international football. Years from now, statistics will be compared and his highlights will be compiled. They'll look at the sheer volume of goals, assists, and Man of the Match awards and assume they understand how good he was.
But numbers will never explain what it actually felt like to watch him play. A stat sheet can't capture the way an entire stadium holds its breath when the ball drops to his left foot, or the impossible geometry of a pass he saw before anyone else did.
Football will of course, continue to evolve, and new talents will rise to prominence, taking over his previously occupied space in the limelight. But without Messi, the grand stage of international football feels less. The greatest player the game has ever known has bid farewell, definitively in control of his own exit. It’s been an absolute privilege to watch him in action.
We were just incredibly lucky to be around to watch him play.
Gracias, Leo.
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