Lionel Messi has described his retirement from international football as the “saddest day of my career” after making his final appearance for Argentina in their 3-0 victory over Benin on Tuesday.
Messi scored once and provided two assists in the win at the Monumental Stadium before addressing supporters and teammates on the pitch, reflecting on his 21-year journey with the national team.
“It was a huge source of pride for me to defend this jersey for more than 20 years,” Messi told the stadium.
“Even in the worst moments we went through and that I had, I never stopped fighting, never stopped being here.
“Not coming anymore is going to be deeply painful. I swear I’d like to play for the rest of my life, because playing for the Argentina national team is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you.”
Messi said returning to the Monumental, where Argentina played their first match after winning the 2022 World Cup, brought mixed emotions as he prepared to say goodbye to the national team.
“Now I’m here on the saddest day of my career, which is the day I have to say goodbye to the national team, goodbye to all of you.
“But now I’ll be on that side (with the fans), supporting all the boys, everyone who comes in. Always united,” he said.
Despite the emotional nature of his farewell, Messi said he had no regrets about ending his international career at this point, pointing to the physical and emotional demands of Argentina’s campaign at this year’s World Cup.
Argentina reached the final before losing to Spain, while their tournament also included a 2-1 semi-final victory over long-time rivals England.
Messi said the experience had taken a significant physical and emotional toll on the team.
“Even though I want to be here all my life, I feel that this is the moment. The last World Cup was too much, everything I had to live through,” said Messi.
“We had the dream of fulfilling my dream and the dream of the whole country, of becoming world champions again.
“In the last World Cup we were very close, and the reality is that nothing strange happened, as people say. The match against England took a huge toll on us physically, and emotionally it was very big.
“We arrived with just enough, we fought like we always did with this jersey, with all the teammates I got to be with and share things with, not only them but also those who were around in the time when we managed to win. We were very close.”