It ‘hurts,’ Messi says, as he ends international career

Lionel Messi on Monday said he was retiring from international soccer after leading Argentina to a second successive FIFA World Cup final in July.

The 39-year-old forward who won the World Cup in 2022 and dragged his nation to the final in the US only to lose to Spain, said the decision had been painful.

“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, and I always fought and gave my all for this shirt,” he added.

Messi led Argentina to World Cup glory four years ago by winning the final against France in a penalty shoot-out in Doha, but his side lost 1-0 to a superior Spain side in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Following the death of his father, Jorge Messi, last month, Lionel Messi had said he had “serious doubts” about continuing to play soccer of any sort for “much longer.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do without you, I don’t know how to go on. I just played football, and now I have serious doubts about continuing to do so for much longer,” he said then.

Lionel Messi’s contract with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami runs until the end of the 2028 season.

In this year’s finals, Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to another final by scoring eight goals and provided two assists in the dramatic late comeback against England in the semi-finals.

However, the dream of lifting the trophy again proved one match too far as the South Americans lost to Spain in the MetLife Stadium.

Lionel Messi was pictured in tears after receiving his loser’s medal.

He said afterward that the pain of defeat was “immense” and that it would “take a long time for this wound to heal.”

In his statement on Monday, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner said it was time for a new generation of Argentina players to take up the torch.

“I love, I loved and I will always love being on the national team,” he wrote. “I gave everything I had, I have nothing more to give, and besides, there are some very talented young players coming up behind me who deserve to be there.”

Argentine President Javier Milei simply posted on social media: “Thank you very much, incredible man.”

First called up in 2005 by Jose Nestor Pekerman as an 18-year-old, Lionel Messi would go on to play 207 times for Argentina and become the country’s leading scorer, with 125 goals.

He also won two Copa Americas in 2021 and 2024 during his 21-year international career.

Yet, prior to the trophy-laden later years, Lionel Messi did not hold the place in Argentine hearts reserved for other national idols such as Diego Maradona or Pope Francis.

After moving to Catalonia at 13 to join Barcelona, Lionel Messi could have represented Spain, but chose Argentina.

His long-time teammate Angel Di Maria, also a 2022 world champion, on Monday paid homage to Lionel Messi for this choice and his impact on the national team.

“We will be forever grateful to you for being Argentinian and for having taken Argentina to the top of the world,” Di Maria said.

“For having chosen to be Argentinian when you could have chosen something else. Thank you for everything.”

For Ernesto Godoy, a 38-year-old teacher in Buenos Aires, Lionel Messi’s retirement from international soccer marks “the end of an incredible career, a sportsman of a caliber rarely seen.”

“There was Maradona, then a void, then Messi, and now we’re going to experience that void [again], life without Messi, just as Argentina did without Maradona,” he said of the player who hangs up his shirt assured of his place in the Argentine pantheon.

After Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner split last year’s Grand Slams, the two superstars were expected to continue their see-saw rivalry this year.
That has not happened. Instead, injuries have foreclosed the possibility of a clash between the two champions in three of the four Grand Slams, with the Spaniard missing the French Open and Wimbledon due to a wrist injury and the Italian absent from New York because of a knee injury.
Alcaraz and Sinner are far from alone among top players missing big tournaments this year due to injury, a trend that has been a source of growing

TIGHT TIES: Throwing the opening pitch for the Nats game is the latest in a series of efforts by the Taiwanese-American astronaut to celebrate Taiwan and the US Taiwan-born astronaut Kjell Lindgren threw the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Nationals’ Taiwan Heritage Day at Nationals Park on Saturday before the game against the Miami Marlins. Speaking before the Nationals’ second Taiwanese Heritage Day, Lindgren said throwing the first pitch was “right up there in terms of anxiety-provoking” with some of his past accomplishments, including two rocket launches, two atmospheric reentries and two spacewalks.

“But I’m really excited to be a part of this celebration of Taiwan heritage,” he said, adding that it was “an opportunity to really celebrate the relationship, the partnership, the history between the United States and

England forward Ollie Watkins has left Aston Villa to join Al Hilal, his new Saudi club announced on Sunday. The deal is worth a reported ￡50 million (US$67.7 million) and follows Villa’s signing of Senegal eseforward Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea. Al Hilal said the 30-year-old Watkins had signed a three-year deal and would be in line to play in their league match against Al Ahli today. He joins a squad including former Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and Crysencio Summerville, who signed from West Ham United earlier in the transfer window.

Watkins has scored seven goals in 24 appearances for England. Villa coach Unai Emery

A record number of Japanese players are in the English Premier League this season, with clubs attracted by their proven quality, value for money and the “very little risk” involved in signing them. Ten players from Japan were registered with top-tier English teams when the campaign started last weekend and more are potentially on the way before the transfer window closes. Zion Suzuki was the highest-profile arrival with his switch to Aston Villa, with former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu returning to London with Crystal Palace, midfielder Hidemasa Morita joining Hull City and Daizen Maeda swapping Celtic for Ipswich Town.

They