Lionel Messi retired from international football, ending his career as Argentina's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, having captained the team to World Cup glory in 2022 and Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024. His storied international career, though, nearly ended a decade earlier: after Argentina lost the 2016 Copa America final to Chile on penalties, an emotional Messi announced he was quitting the national team for good, believing he would never win a major trophy with them.

Messi made his retirement declaration on 26 June 2016 at MetLife Stadium, just after his 29th birthday, having missed a penalty in the shootout defeat and after enduring three previous major final losses. He reversed the decision six weeks later, returning on 12 August 2016 "for the love of the country". In the ten years since, he added a further 94 caps and 70 goals, winning four major trophies, a remarkable turnaround given that, at the time of his first retirement, Diego Maradona had publicly questioned his character and leadership.