How Messi's decade of dominance almost never happened — SkimNews
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- Lionel Messi retired from international football on Monday as Argentina's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ending his career after the 2026 World Cup final defeat by Spain at MetLife Stadium.
- On 26 June 2016 at MetLife Stadium, Messi announced his retirement at age 29 after missing a penalty in Argentina's Copa America final shootout loss to Chile — his fourth straight final defeat following the 2014 World Cup and Copa Americas in 2007, 2015 and 2016.
- Within six weeks, a nationwide "Get Messi back" campaign — featuring pleas from teammates, a phone call from President Mauricio Macri, a statue unveiled by Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, and 20,000-plus uses of #NoTeVayasMessi in 24 hours — persuaded Messi to reverse course.
- New coach Edgardo Bauza flew to Barcelona in August 2016 to personally convince Messi to return; the player declared "I love this country and this shirt too much" upon his comeback.
- After reversing his retirement, Messi played 94 more games, scored 70 more goals, and won four major trophies — Copa Americas in 2021 and 2024, the 2022 Finalissima, and the 2022 World Cup — before his sixth World Cup in 2026, where he scored eight goals with four assists.
- Diego Maradona had publicly criticized Messi just weeks before the 2016 retirement, declaring he "lacks the character to be a leader" — a comparison the Argentine has now decisively settled in his favor.
- Messi's father Jorge died three weeks after the 2026 World Cup final; South American football writer Tim Vickery suggested Argentina could host an official farewell at River Plate once FIFA's 50% capacity punishment for the team's World Cup behavior expires.
Why it matters: The six-week reversal in August 2016 was the hinge point of Argentina's modern football history. Without it, the country would still be waiting for a senior trophy since 1986; instead, Messi delivered four titles and transformed his legacy from "goes missing on big occasions" to Argentina's undisputed greatest — a debate that now appears settled in Messi's favor.
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