Lionel Messi announced on August 31 that he is retiring from Argentina’s national team, ending an international career that spanned more than two decades.
The Argentine Football Association responded by ordering clubs across the country to pause matches for a round of applause in the 10th minute, a nod to the number Messi wore for club and country throughout his career. The gesture applied to league games nationwide in the days after the announcement.
Messi’s international record includes the 2021 Copa America title, the 2022 World Cup, Argentina’s first in 36 years, and the 2024 Copa America, a run that turned a career once defined by near misses in finals into one associated with sustained success for the national team.
His final tournament came at the 2026 World Cup, where Argentina reached the final as defending champions before losing to Spain. Messi, then 39, remained central to the run even as the team fell short of becoming the first side in 64 years to win consecutive titles.
The retirement was not universally welcomed. In the days before the announcement became final, groups of fans had rallied publicly asking Messi to reconsider and continue playing for the national team.
Messi has been the team’s captain and central attacking figure for most of the past decade. Coach Lionel Scaloni’s squad now builds its next cycle without him.