Lionel Messi's Argentina Career Ends: A Record Book Almost Entirely His Own

Argentine legend Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football on Monday. The 39-year-old attacker, who won the 2022 FIFA World Cup, said the decision to retire "hurt and still hurts deep in my soul." "It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep in my soul, but I understand that it is the right time," Messi wrote on Instagram. "I swear I always gave everything, not just in the last few years when we won everything, but before that too. I always fought and gave my all for this shirt."

With a career spanning three decades and multiple records to his name, here is a look back at the numbers behind the boy from Rosario.

# Most caps for Argentina (207 appearances) and most goals for Argentina (125). He passed Gabriel Batistuta's mark of 54 goals during the 2016 Copa America Centenario.

# He reached his 200th cap in the tournament opener against Algeria at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where he also scored his first World Cup hat-trick.

# Most World Cup match appearances (34) and the most minutes played at the World Cup.

# The only player in history to score in the World Cup group stage, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final.

# First player to score in nine consecutive World Cup matches (a streak spanning 2022-2026), surpassing the previous record of six held jointly by Just Fontaine and Jairzinho.

# A record 21 goals in FIFA World Cup history.

# The most World Cup assists (12).

# A record 33 combined goals and assists across six tournaments.

# Oldest outfield player ever to appear in a World Cup final (39 years, 25 days) and the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick (38 years, 357 days).

# Won a record five Player of the Match awards in a single World Cup (2026).

# Most appearances in Copa America history and the all-time leading assist provider in the competition.

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