Lionel Messi may play his final tournament with Argentina at the Copa America-Republic World

Lionel Messi trains with his team, Argentina, for a COPA football match in Kennesaw, Georgia | Image: AP

It’s sad but true: the Copa America could mark Lionel Messi’s final chapter with the Argentina national football team.

The World Cup winner will turn 37 during the tournament in the United States, which starts on Thursday. He is clearly past his prime at Inter Miami, after twenty years at the highest level in Europe.

Messi has not yet set a date for his retirement and has kept the door open for a sixth World Cup in 2026 to defend his title against Qatar. But he already recognizes his shortcomings.

“I haven’t thought about that yet. The moment I feel that I am not going to help my team, I will retire,” Messi said in an interview with Saudi broadcaster Riyadh Season in March. “I have always eaten well and trained. But as I grew, I became aware that the physical effort we exert becomes increasingly demanding. As you get older, things get harder.”

Last year, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner suffered muscle injuries while playing in the MLS and for Argentina. That didn’t change much in 2024.

Messi has shown that he enjoys going out at night with his wife Antonella and friends in Miami. He spends time with his three children, starts new businesses and lives as if football is slowly becoming a smaller part of his life.

Yet he has twelve goals and thirteen assists for Inter Miami this season.

“I’m having a good time at the club. I am lucky to have teammates and friends (Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, all former Barcelona players) by my side,” Messi told ESPN. “I’m having a good time in the national team, where I also have teammates and friends. And I enjoy the little details that I know I will miss when I don’t play anymore.”

Ángel di Maria, a 36-year-old winger who played alongside Messi for years in the national team, will certainly say goodbye to international football after the Copa America. That has also led to more questions about whether the team’s biggest star will remain in the squad.

“As long as I feel like I’m doing well and I can continue to contribute, I’m going to do it. The only thing on my mind today is to go well to the Copa America and be able to compete in it,” Messi told the Star Plus platform in December. “We’ll fight for it again, like we always did, and try to become champions.”

Argentina’s all-time top scorer and national team leader with 26 World Cup appearances is also aiming for records in continental competition.

Messi, who won the South American championship in 2021, wants to become the top scorer of the Copa America. He scored thirteen goals in six editions, four behind Argentina’s Norberto Méndez and Brazil’s Zizinho with seventeen.

He also wants to be the player with the most Copa America appearances, a record he currently shares with former Chile goalkeeper Sergio Livingston, both with 34 appearances.

Messi’s teammates don’t want to see him leave.

“We’ll see how long, but as long as he’s here we’re going to enjoy it to the fullest,” said Argentina defender Cristian Romero. “We grew up watching him. We are part of those tournaments.”