“Thank you, Leo”: International media react to Messi’s international retirement

“Thank you, Leo, you will remain in our hearts forever,” Argentina’s Olé wrote after Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football at 38.

The announcement prompted prominent headlines across the football press. Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport called it “Messi, an farewell letter,” while France’s L’Équipe led its website with a large photograph of Messi in tears and wrote, “Messi and Argentina, it’s over.”

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Thank you, Leo, you will remain in our hearts forever.

Spanish newspapers described the decision as a shock. Marca called it a “dramatic turn,” and AS ran the headline “Global shock following the news about Messi.” The Madrid-based paper also opened a live feed to follow developments minute by minute.

In Catalonia, where Messi became a defining figure in Barcelona’s history, Sport emphasized the happiness and disappointment that marked his international career. It said the career left a lesson that transcended both: it is never too late to fight for one’s dreams. Mundo Deportivo thanked him for every dribble, pass and goal, calling him eternal.

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For every dribble, every pass, every goal. You are and always will be eternal.

The reaction in Argentina carried a deeper sense of loss. Olé wrote that the country’s greatest player had said goodbye to the team he loved, with which he had reached the summit of the sport. The newspaper described millions of grateful supporters beginning to feel an absence.

Britain’s The Sun focused on the fact that Messi was leaving Argentina’s team “again.” It recalled his previous retirement announcement in 2016, after Argentina lost the Copa América final to Chile. Messi later reversed that decision and returned in time for the 2018 World Cup. Other international outlets, including O Globo, The Guardian, the BBC and ESPN, also reported on the farewell letter and the end of an era.

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A new era will now open without him as its leading figure.