Twenty-one years, 207 games and 125 goals after making his Argentina debut, Lionel Messi has confirmed his retirement from international football.
While this is actually the second time the now-39-year-old has announced his international retirement, having previously done so after his team finished as runners-up in the 2016 Copa América, on this occasion there is a sense of finality around his decision.
His last game for La Albiceleste -- the 1-0 World Cup final defeat to Spain on July 19 -- meant his international career was left without the perfect ending, but with three major international triumphs already to his name, Messi has more than lived up to Diego Maradona's Argentina legacy.
Here we take a look at Messi's legendary Argentina career, by the numbers.
- Messi has led Argentina to three titles: 2021 Copa América, 2022 World Cup and 2024 Copa América
- He was directly involved in 185 goals in 207 matches for Argentina, scoring 125 goals and assisting 60
- Messi scored 111 of his 125 Argentina goals with his trusty left foot. He scored 12 with his right, two with his head and one with his torso.
- The Argentine briefly became the leading scorer in men's World Cup history during this summer's tournament in North America before he was overtaken by France's Kylian Mbappé. Messi has scored 21 goals at the World Cup, while Mbappé has 22
- Messi has both scored (7) and missed (3) the most penalties at the World Cup
- No player in history has featured in more World Cups than Messi (6)
- No player in history can match Messi for World Cup appearances (34), matches won (23), assists (12), goals scored from outside the penalty area (6)
- Messi is the only player to have started three World Cup finals (2014, 2022, 2026) and he is the oldest outfield player to play in a World Cup final (39y, 25d)
- Messi holds the record for most major tournament goals in men's history with 35 (World Cup/EUROs/Copa América/Gold Cup/AFCON/AFC Asian Cup/OFC Nations Cup)
- His international retirement comes just over 21 years after he made his national team debut on Aug. 17, 2005 against Hungary -- a game in which he came on as a substitute and was shown a red card within one minute of being introduced after he was adjudged to have elbowed Vilmos Vanczák
- Messi scored 11 hat tricks for Argentina, with his last coming in the first game of the 2026 World Cup
How does Messi's international career compare to Cristiano Ronaldo's?
- Messi's 125 goals and 207 career international appearances are both the second most among men's national team players. Only Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (146 in 233 games) has more games and goals in men's internationals
- The Argentine has won three major trophies with his country (2021 Copa América, 2022 World Cup and 2024 Copa América), while Ronaldo has won one (Euro 2016). Messi also won the 2022 Finalissima, while Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates lifted the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League.
- Ronaldo has 1 career goal and 0 assists in the World Cup knockout stage (9 games). By comparison, Messi had 7 goals and 10 assists in 17 career World Cup knockout stage matches
- Messi (60.39%) has a slightly lower goals-per-game ratio than Ronaldo (62.66%) on the international stage
- 25 of Messi's 125 international goals came from the penalty spot -- two more than Ronaldo's
- Messi scored one more free kick for Argentina than Ronaldo has managed for Portugal (12 vs. 11)
- Ronaldo has scored more goals against teams that were placed higher in the FIFA rankings than Messi -- vs. Top 10: Messi (17), Ronaldo (18), vs. Top 20: Messi (32), Ronaldo (30), vs. Top 30: Messi (49), Ronaldo (46)
Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this story.
