“I leave with peace and pride” – Retirement of Global football legend Lionel Messi

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The football legend Lionel Messi has finally confirmed the due plans of his retirement and thanked his nation while claiming he had played his role and wishes the best for the next generation of players.

On Monday, 30th of August, 2026, Lionel Messi had released an official announcement of his retirement through an Instagram post on his official account. The player had given the team of Argentina 2 decades of his life and helped the nation achieve great deals in the global football sphere by scoring 2 successful world cup victories, scoring 125 goals in his career and being the most appeared player by 207 appearances; the latest world cup one being scored in July, 2026. The previous world cup he had won was against France in the year 2022.

The player has shown great emotional vulnerability regarding his retirement and claimed that he has nothing left to give and that it was a painful decision to retire but he would be doing it to allow the next generation of players to rise and support Argentina in football as “they deserve to be here”. The 39 year old player also thanked all his fans that supported him through his 21 years of career and also thanked his family, coach, teammates and directors for standing with him in this difficult journey of his life. The player said that now is the time of new chapters in his life and that he will be supporting the team from the outside. He also said that he was leaving with a sense of accomplishment and had fulfilled his dreams of making Argentina win World cups. He also said that he had written his final words of retirement 2 days after the 2026 finals and that the death of his father, Jorge had caused him to finally decide that he would be retiring form football for good as his father was a figure of great importance in his life and his love for the sport.

On this occasion, his life time football opponent Ronaldo Messi too has said that fans should respect his decision and expressed genuine sympathy for the emotional state of Messi showcasing mutual respect for the player’s decision.

The legendary player had finalized his announcement by words that showcase his real feelings towards his career and his country by saying that “I leave with peace and pride” and “Vamos Argentina”, proving that the love he had for the sport and his nation is never over even with his retirement and that he will always be supporting the team even from outside.

✍️Tamanna Negi

Scholar from University of Delhi, INDIA