No fairytale ending, but Messi leaves defining legacy for Argentina

Lionel Messi brought down the curtain on his extraordinary international career on Monday, announcing his retirement soon after inspiring Argentina to within one victory of a second successive World ​Cup triumph.

At 39, two decades after first appearing on football’s biggest stage, Messi walked away having long since repaired a complicated relationship with his country that once threatened ‌to define his career.

The record eight-times Ballon d’Or winner leaves as a World Cup winner and twice Copa America champion, the man who stepped out of Diego Maradona’s immense shadow to create an Argentine legacy entirely his own.

Defeat by Spain in this year’s World Cup final denied Messi the perfect farewell and the chance to become a world champion for a second time.

But after a career that transformed Barcelona, Argentina and the modern game itself, there was precious little ​left to prove.

Four years earlier in Qatar, he lifted the trophy he had pursued throughout his career, scoring seven goals in the tournament and twice in the final against France ​before Argentina prevailed on penalties.

It was the crowning moment of a remarkable career, and also the culmination of one of football’s most compelling stories ⁠of perseverance.

For all his success at Barcelona, where his brilliance brought him every major individual and collective honour available, Messi’s relationship with the Argentina shirt was for years defined as much by what ​he had not won as by what he had achieved.

He reached the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil only for Argentina to lose to Germany in extra time, before successive Copa America final ​defeats in 2015 and 2016 deepened the sense that international glory might elude him.

After the second of those defeats, against Chile on penalties, a devastated Messi briefly walked away.

“The national team is over for me,” he said.

Messi returned and, gradually, the story changed.

Under Lionel Scaloni, Argentina built a team around their captain without becoming entirely dependent on him, surrounding their ageing number 10 with the energy, aggression and collective commitment that allowed ​his genius to flourish.

The breakthrough came at the 2021 Copa America, when Argentina beat Brazil at the Maracana to give Messi his first major senior international trophy.