Milei Thanks Messi After Argentina Retirement: “Thank You, Impossible Man”

Javier Milei thanked Lionel Messi with a short tribute after the Argentine captain ended his more than two-decade career with the national team. “Thank you, impossible man,” the president wrote on Instagram alongside a photograph of Messi wearing Argentina’s No. 10 shirt.

Milei also posted on X a clip from a 2018 interview in which he described Messi as “impossible,” referring to the forward’s ability on the field. The president has previously called Messi the greatest player of all time.

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Thank you, impossible man.

Other Argentine figures joined the farewell. Former President Mauricio Macri praised Messi as an example of “effort, humility and talent that will transcend generations.” Tourism, Environment and Sports Secretary Daniel Scioli called him an “eternal legend.” Argentine Football Association President Claudio Tapia and teammates including Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo de Paul and Enzo Fernández also recognized his career and leadership.

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Effort, humility and talent that will transcend generations.

Messi, 39, announced his decision in a handwritten letter. “I have emptied myself, I have nothing more to give, and besides, there are very good young players coming through who deserve to be there,” he wrote.

He leaves the national team as its most capped player and its leading scorer and assist provider, with 207 appearances, 125 goals and 68 assists. He won two Copa América titles, the Finalissima and the 2022 World Cup with Argentina.

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I have emptied myself, I have nothing more to give, and besides, there are very good young players coming through who deserve to be there.