Argentina captain Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from international football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 39-year-old announced his decision on Monday, more than a month after playing his final match for Argentina in the World Cup final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter much thought and consideration since the World Cup final, I would like to tell you that I am retiring from the national team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Messi also commented on his retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a decision that has been very painful and still hurts my heart. But I understand that this is the right time. I can swear that I have always given my best. Not only in the last few years when we have won everything, but also before that. For this jersey, I have always fought with dedication to bring you happiness and to make you proud to be Argentine through football.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Argentina captain Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from international football. The 39-year-old announced his decision on Monday, more than a month after playing his final match for Argentina in the World Cup final. \u201cAfter much thought and consideration since the World Cup final, I would like to tell you that I am retiring from…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,68],"tags":[250,73,134],"class_list":["post-13002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-international-football","tag-lionel-messi","tag-slsports","tag-sports-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t