{"id":260546,"date":"2026-08-31T21:57:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T21:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/31\/still-hurts-messi-confirms-retirement-call-sparking-shock-ronaldo-goat-claim\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T21:57:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T21:57:00","slug":"still-hurts-messi-confirms-retirement-call-sparking-shock-ronaldo-goat-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/31\/still-hurts-messi-confirms-retirement-call-sparking-shock-ronaldo-goat-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Still hurts\u2019: Messi confirms retirement call \u2026 sparking shock Ronaldo \u2018GOAT\u2019 claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Tributes are pouring in from around the football world and beyond after Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football.<\/p>\n

The 39-year-old forward, who won the World Cup in 2022 and dragged his nation to the final in the United States in July only to lose to Spain, said the decision had been painful.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep in my soul but I understand that it is the right time,\u201d Messi wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n

<\/amp-img><\/amp-iframe><\/div>\n

\u201cI swear I always gave everything, not just in the last few years when we won everything but before that too, and I always fought and gave my all for this shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Messi led Argentina to World Cup glory four years ago by winning the final against France in a penalty shootout in Doha, but his side lost 1-0 to a superior Spain side in the 2026 final<\/a> in East Rutherford, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Following the death of his father Jorge in August, Messi had said he had \u201cserious doubts\u201d about continuing to play football of any sort for \u201cmuch longer\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019ll do without you, I don\u2019t know how to go on. I just played football, and now I have serious doubts about continuing to do so for much longer,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s contract with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami runs until the end of the 2028 season.<\/p>\n

In this year\u2019s finals, Messi inspired Argentina to another final by scoring eight goals and provided two assists in the dramatic late comeback against England in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n

<\/amp-img>
Lionel Messi celebrates scoring in the 2022 World Cup final. (Photo by Thomas COEX \/ AFP)<\/span>Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the dream of lifting the trophy again proved one match too far as the South Americans lost to Spain in the MetLife Stadium.<\/p>\n

Messi was pictured in tears after receiving his loser\u2019s medal. He said afterwards that the pain of defeat was \u201cimmense\u201d and that it would \u201ctake a long time for this wound to heal\u201d.<\/p>\n

In his statement on Monday, the eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner said it was time for a new generation of Argentina players to take up the torch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love, I loved, and I will always love being on the national team,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI gave everything I had, I have nothing more to give, and besides, there are some very talented young players coming up behind me who deserve to be there.\u201d <\/p>\n

Reacting to the news, FIFA president Gianni Infantino called Messi \u201cone of the greatest players our sport has ever seen\u201d and thanked him for \u201cbringing so much joy to millions of football fans\u201d.<\/p>\n

Argentine President Javier Milei simply posted on social media: \u201cThank you very much, incredible man.\u201d <\/p>\n

First called up in 2005 by Jose Nestor Pekerman as an 18-year-old, Messi would go on to play 207 times for Argentina and become the country\u2019s leading scorer, with 125 goals.<\/p>\n

Messi also won two Copa Americas in 2021 and 2024 during his 21-year international career.<\/p>\n

Yet, prior to the trophy-laden later years, Messi did not hold the place in Argentine hearts reserved for other national idols such as Diego Maradona or Pope Francis.<\/p>\n

After moving to Catalonia at 13 to join Barcelona, Messi could have represented Spain but chose Argentina.<\/p>\n

<\/amp-img>
Lionel Messi cries during the trophy ceremony at the end of the 2026 World Cup final. (Photo by Paul ELLIS \/ AFP)<\/span>Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His long-time teammate Angel Di Maria, also a 2022 world champion, on Monday paid homage to Messi for this choice and his impact on the national team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be forever grateful to you for being Argentinian and for having taken Argentina to the top of the world,\u201d Di Maria said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor having chosen to be Argentinian when you could have chosen something else. Thank you for everything.\u201d For Ernesto Godoy, a 38-year-old teacher in Buenos Aires, Messi\u2019s retirement from international football marks \u201cthe end of an incredible career, a sportsman of a calibre rarely seen\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was Maradona, then a void, then Messi, and now we\u2019re going to experience that void (again), life without Messi, just as Argentina did without Maradona,\u201d he told AFP of the player who hangs up his shirt assured of his place in the Argentine pantheon.<\/p>\n

However, not among those paying tribute was controversial English broadcaster Piers Morgan.<\/p>\n

A long-time backer of Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi\u2019s main rival as the players of their generation, Morgan claimed Messi\u2019s retirement, with fewer international goals than the Portuguese superstar, \u201csettles the GOAT debate\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tributes are pouring in from around the football world and beyond after Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football. The 39-year-old forward, who won the World Cup in 2022 and dragged his nation to the final in the United States in July only to lose to Spain, said the decision had been painful. \u201cIt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":260547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-260546","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}