Photo by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

'I have nothing more to give': the letter that closed Messi's Argentina story

On August 31, after 21 years in the Argentina shirt, Lionel Messi told the country he was done. There was a letter posted on social media and a video, and the letter is worth reading slowly, because its simplicity is the whole point.

"After all this time"

Messi began by explaining the wait. "After all this time that has passed since the final, and after much thought, I want to announce to everyone that I am retiring from the national team," he wrote.

He has said he made the decision on July 21, two days after Argentina lost the World Cup final to Spain. He then waited about six weeks before telling anyone.

The sentence that matters most

The most revealing line is not about trophies at all. "I swear I always gave my all, not just in the last few years when we won everything, but before that too," Messi wrote, "and I always fought and gave everything for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you proud to be Argentinian through football." It is a gentle reminder to anyone who only counts the years of glory.

For Messi, the years before them mattered just as much, and he wanted the country to know it.

Giving the shirt away

Then came the plainest sentence in the letter. "I've given it my all; I have nothing more to give, and besides, there are some great young players coming up behind me who deserve to be there." He did not say he was tired of Argentina. He said Argentina deserved more than he had left to give.

The video and the farewell

The announcement came with a video that traced his story in the Argentina shirt from his early years to the titles, set to Soledad Pastorutti's song "Brindis". About five weeks later, at the Monumental on October 6, Pastorutti was among the artists in the pre-match show before the 3-0 win over Benin.

The letter asked for nothing. Argentina answered it with a night that said everything.

Up nextFootball· 27m ago

The No. 10 that cannot be retired: why Messi's shirt will outlive his farewell