Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi announced Monday his retirement from the men’s national football team.
The 39-year-old star confirmed his decision not to represent the Albiceleste in any future games with a heartfelt message posted on his Instagram account.
“After spending a long time pondering it, I want to announce my retirement from the national team,” Messi wrote.
The Argentine superstar said it was “a decision that hurts in [his] soul” but that he “understands the time has come.”
“I swear I left everything on the pitch, not just these last few years when we won it all, but also before, and that I always fought and did it all for this shirt, to make [the fans] happy and proud to be Argentine,” he wrote.
