Messi announces international retirement

Lionel Messi announced his retirement from the Argentina national team via an Instagram post featuring a handwritten notebook entry in Spanish, originally written on July 21st, two days after an unspecified final. The post was shared after the death of his father, Jorge Messi, who passed away on August 8th at age 68 in Rosario, Argentina. Messi stated the decision was painful but that he felt the time had come, reflecting on his career winning everything with the national team in recent years.