"We will love you until the end of our days": Messi announced his retirement and the reactions arrived

This Monday, Lionel Messi announced his retirement from the Argentine National Team after 20 years. The legendary captain and greatest icon of the Albiceleste shared a letter and an emotional video on his Instagram account explaining the reasons for his decision and revisiting the most important moments of his career.

"After this time that has passed since the final, after thinking about it a lot, I want to let everyone know that I am retiring from the National Team," he wrote at the beginning of the letter that broke the hearts of the millions of Argentinians who follow him.

The messages from his teammates after the announcement

While millions of fans were processing news that seemed impossible to imagine, there was one group that experienced the announcement from an even more intimate place: his teammates.

The footballers who shared training camps, locker rooms, defeats, and the most glorious nights in the recent history of Argentina began leaving him messages on social media almost immediately.

Rodrigo De Paul , one of the footballers closest to the Argentine captain, with whom he built a very close relationship on and off the pitch, dedicated some heartfelt farewell words to him, highlighted Messi 's love for Argentina, the struggles he went through throughout his career, his leadership within the group and, especially, his human quality, both with his teammates and with each of the workers who are part of the National Team. In his message, he summed up that bond with a forceful phrase: “Only thanks, the greatest in all of history.” And, toward the end, he left him one last show of gratitude: “Thank you for making us so, so happy [...] You are eternal"

Ángel Di María , who shared with Messi a good part of his most important years wearing the Argentina jersey and who had already closed his own chapter with the National Team after the 2024 Copa América , was also among the first to react. Fideo chose to thank Messi for something that goes beyond soccer: for choosing to represent Argentina when he could have taken another path. “Thank you, Captain. Thank you for everything. The best in history” , he wrote.

Enzo Fernández built his farewell from the perspective of that boy who dreamed of one day sharing the Argentina shirt with Messi. He recalled that, when the captain had first announced that he was stepping away from the National Team, he used to calculate his own age and Leo’s to imagine whether he would still have time to reach the top division and cross paths with his idol. Life, in the end, was far more generous: he not only managed to play alongside him, but also shared training camps, the dressing room, conversations, and difficult moments with him until becoming a world champion together with him. But Enzo chose to highlight, above all, the way Messi welcomed him from the moment he arrived: “I found a person who, from the very first moment, made me feel like one of the group” . “How lucky I was, Leo” , he wrote toward the end, before admitting that it is hard for him to imagine the next training camp without seeing him ahead of him, wearing the number 10. “We’re going to miss you a lot, captain.”

“My daughter is going to be proud that I was able to share a team with you”

One of the most personal messages was Lisandro Martínez's. The defender put into words something that surely many footballers of the new generation feel: having made it to the National Team dreaming of playing alongside Messi and ending up also discovering the person behind the idol. “My daughter is going to be very proud that her father shared a team with an extraordinary human being,” he wrote, before defining him as an example “in football and in life.”

The rest of the world champion squad also made their voices heard.

Lautaro Martínez chose a brief but forceful message: "Eternally grateful, captain". Alexis Mac Allister, for his part, thanked Messi for the impact he had on the current generation of Argentine footballers: "Thank you for everything you gave us on and off the field".

Leandro Paredes posted a carousel of photos in which he thanked him for everything he did for him as an Argentine, as a fan of the National Team, as a teammate, and as a friend. They were joined by the stories from Cristian "Cuti" Romero and Nicolás Tagliafico, who, on his birthday, also dedicated a few words to the one he described as his idol.

Other voices in the locker room chose to highlight different aspects of the captain's legacy. Goalkeeper Guillermo Rulli emphasized that Messi is eternal not only for what he gave as a player, but because he showed them the path of resilience, hard work, and camaraderie.

Giovanni Lo Celso for his part said that his legacy will be eternal and thanked him for teaching them so much and guiding them on and off the field.

The AFA , through the official Argentina national team account, joined the tribute with an image of the captain lifting the World Cup and a message that summed up the general feeling: "Thank you forever, Leo. We will love you until the end of our days".

Antonela's message and the pain of a farewell that transcends soccer

His wife and mother of his children, Antonela Roccuzzo, dedicated some tender words to Messi after the announcement of his retirement: "How proud to have been by your side on this journey and to see you fulfill all your dreams. You deserved this story and so much more. We love you infinitely."

Messi is leaving the National Team after a story that had painful defeats, criticism, a first farewell in 2016, and a return that ended up changing everything and making him the greatest source of pride for all Argentinians.