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Argentine Football Figures Salute Lionel Messi After His National-Team Retirement
🇧🇴 Bolivia /Sports

Argentine Football Figures Salute Lionel Messi After His National-Team Retirement

From El Deber · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News From a news agency Outcome reported
  • Lionel Messi announced his retirement from Argentina’s national team after more than 20 years in the squad.
  • Ángel Di María, Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul and other players thanked Messi for his service and praised his impact on Argentine football.
  • Messi made more than 200 appearances for Argentina, scoring 125 goals and providing 68 assists.

Lionel Messi said he had “given all I had” as he announced his retirement from Argentina’s national team, prompting an emotional wave of tributes from teammates and football clubs.

The 39-year-old forward said younger players now deserved their opportunity. He announced the decision on Instagram less than two months after Argentina lost the 2026 World Cup final to Spain.

I gave all I had, I have nothing more to give, and besides, some very talented young players are coming through who deserve their chance.

— Lionel MessiMessi explained his decision to retire from Argentina’s national team.

Ángel Di María, Messi’s Argentina teammate for almost two decades, thanked him for representing the country and helping take it to the top of world football. Di María also praised Messi for choosing Argentina when he could have played for Spain, writing: “We will be grateful to you all our lives for being Argentine and for taking Argentina to the top of the world.”

We will be grateful to you all our lives for being Argentine and for taking Argentina to the top of the world.

— Ángel Di MaríaDi María thanked Messi in a social-media tribute.

Leandro Paredes, who played alongside Messi and Di María in Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad, wrote: “Thank you for absolutely everything. You are and always will be the greatest of all. We love you, captain.” Rodrigo De Paul, another teammate with both Argentina and Inter Miami, called Messi “the greatest in history” and credited him with bringing happiness to supporters.

De Paul also highlighted Messi’s leadership away from matches, including his treatment of teammates and national-team staff. Nicolás Tagliafico and other players also posted tributes, while River Plate shared an image of a supporter holding Messi’s No. 10 shirt at Buenos Aires’ Monumental stadium.

Thank you for absolutely everything. You are and always will be the greatest of all. We love you, captain.

— Leandro ParedesParedes paid tribute to his former Argentina teammate.

Messi leaves the national team after more than 200 appearances, 125 goals and 68 assists.

Just thank you, the greatest in all of history. Thank you for making us so, so happy. You cannot imagine how many smiles you brought.

— Rodrigo De PaulDe Paul praised Messi’s impact on Argentina’s players and supporters.
About this summary

Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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