10 Interesting Facts About Lionel Messi’s Retirement from International Football

Lionel Messi, the 5 times Ballon D’or winner decided to end his international career after the loss against Chile in the Copa America Centenario 2016. While it comes as a shock to many people, let us take you on a trip down memory lane and look at 10 interesting facts about Lionel Messi’s retirement from international football.

1) Messi is Argentina’s all-time leading scorer

Messi is the all-time leading scorer for Argentina with 55 goals, surpassing Gabriel Batistuta. He scored his first goal for Argentina at the age of 18 years and 25 days, making him Argentina’s youngest-ever goal scorer. 

Since making his debut in 2004, he has played 113 matches and scored 65 goals for his country. Alongside Diego Maradona and Guillermo Stábile, Messi is one of only three players to have won two Olympic gold medals. His club career includes winning six La Liga titles and four Champions League titles while playing for Barcelona.

2) Messi has won five Ballon d’Or awards

Lionel Messi has been named FIFA World Player of the Year five times, a record he shares with Ronaldo. He has been awarded the Ballon d’Or, which is given to the best player in Europe, four times. 

His style of play is modeled after Diego Maradona and his favorite soccer team as a boy was Newell’s Old Boys. In 2007, he set records by becoming the youngest player to score two goals in El Clásico (Spain) at just 18 years old. His name Messi means The little one.

3) Messi has played in four World Cups

In 2006, he was 18 years old and scored his first goal against Serbia in the group stage. He also won the Golden Ball for being the best player in the tournament. He helped Argentina win their first-ever World Cup title in 2014 with a goal against Germany in extra time of the final match. His last World Cup appearance was in 2018 when he helped Argentina reach the quarterfinals again but lost to eventual champions France on penalties.

4) Messi has played in three Copa America tournaments

He has been a key player in the Argentina national team since 2006. He has played in three Copa America tournaments and has won two titles, one with Argentina (2007) and one with Barcelona (2009). He is the only player to score in two consecutive Copa America finals. 

10 Interesting Facts about Lionel Messi that he holds the record for most goals scored in La Liga history with 371 goals. The 25-year-old striker made his debut as a 16-year-old for FC Barcelona against Espanyol on November 17th, 2004 scoring two goals for his first senior goal and an assist.

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5) Messi has never won a World Cup or Copa America

7 Interesting Facts About Lionel Messi 

• Despite being widely regarded as one of the best footballers of all time, he has never won a World Cup or Copa America. 
• He scored 13 goals in the 2010 World Cup and is the only player to score in every game he played in a World Cup tournament. 
• He captained his national team for two years before resigning his captaincy to focus on his club career with Barcelona. 
• His goal against Getafe was voted Goal of the Decade by FIFA. 
• His goal against Estudiantes de La Plata won ESPN’s Goal of the Month for November 2009. 
• His first contract with FC Barcelona was worth about $30 million (€21M). 
• He made his debut at 16, becoming Barça’s youngest-ever La Liga starter and youngest player to play in UEFA Champions League Final history.

6) Messi has won Olympic gold

In 2012, he scored the winning goal in the final of the Olympic tournament against Brazil to clinch gold for Argentina. He was also a part of Argentina’s gold medal-winning team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

In 2014, Messi won his third FIFA Ballon d’Or and fourth European Golden Shoe (the latter awarded to the top goalscorer in Europe). He holds records such as the most goals in La Liga by an Argentine player and became Barcelona’s all-time top scorer.

7) Messi has played for Barcelona since he was 13 years old

Messi has played for Barcelona since he was 13 years old, making his debut in the 2004-05 season. He made his debut on 16 November 2003 at the age of 16 years and 145 days, making him one of the youngest players ever to have played in a La Liga game. He is an all-time top scorer for club and country: 

He is an all-time top scorer for club and country with 34 goals in 59 appearances. 

He also holds the record for the most goals scored by any player in FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches (21). 

In addition, he is also Argentina’s highest goal scorer in official competitions with 60 goals in 113 games. 10 interesting facts about Lionel Messi’s retirement from international football can be found here.

8) Messi has three children

Messi and his wife Antonella Roccuzzo have three children together: Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro. 

• Thiago was born on December 12th, 2008. 
• Mateo was born on October 2nd, 2010. 
• Ciro was born on September 10th, 2012. 
• Messi became a father for the first time at age 18. 
• Messi’s son is named after one of his best friends, Ciro Immobile, who also played with him in Newell’s Old Boys. 
• The oldest of the three children is only 6 years old and he is already attending La Masia school.

9) Messi’s net worth is estimated at $400 million

Lionel Andres Leo Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for Barcelona. He has been ranked by some as the best player in history. He has won five Ballon d’Ors, four of which he won consecutively, and four European Golden Shoes. 

His net worth is estimated at $400 million. In 2011, he was awarded the FIFA Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award by football’s world governing body. In 2012, he received his second consecutive Ballon D’or with 1,205 points-the most in history. 

He became FC Barcelona’s all-time top goal scorer on November 7th, 2014 when he scored against Sevilla FC to surpass Paulino Alcantara’s record. Despite not being able to play for Argentina due to injury during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Messi was included in the tournament’s 23-man shortlist on May 12th as one of the three overage players selected by coach Alejandro Sabella.

10) Messi announced his retirement from international football on Instagram

Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football on Instagram after Argentina lost the Copa America Centenario 2016 to Chile. 

The Argentine footballer was part of the team for 12 years and helped them win several titles, but he has decided to make a change. Here are 10 facts about Lionel Messi’s decision to retire from international football:

• He first played for Argentina in 2005 against Hungary when he was only 16 years old. 
• His last game with the national team took place on June 27, 2016, when they lost 1-4 against Chile during the Copa America Centenario. 
• In total, he made 113 appearances for Argentina and scored 34 goals. 
• From 2004-2016 (12 years), he won eight trophies with La Albiceleste including two Olympic gold medals (2008 and 2012). 
• He is considered one of the best players in history according to FIFA as well as many other sporting organizations like UEFA.