Lionel Messi leads Argentina into World Cup ... 10 years after he nearly retired
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- Messi led Argentina to a World Cup and two Copa America titles.
- Messi nearly retired from international soccer in 2016 after a Copa America final loss.
- Argentina arrived in Kansas City on a custom Airbus A330 featuring Messi's No.10.
It’s nearly impossible to think of Argentina soccer without Lionel Messi.
Especially right now.
You can’t even look at the national team’s plane without getting a visual reminder of what Messi has meant to his country on the pitch. When the Argentinians arrived in Kansas City — site of their World Cup base camp — they did so aboard a custom-branded Airbus A330 featuring the team’s blue and white colors and Messi’s iconic No. 10 on the tail.
Move over Air Force One. The world’s most famous footballer rides on this aircraft.
As Argentina prepares to defend its World Cup championship from 2022, it’s clear that Messi is to La Albiceleste what Michael Jordan once was to the Chicago Bulls.
Or what Patrick Mahomes currently is to the Kansas City Chiefs.
That makes sense when you consider that Messi, who will turn 39 during this World Cup (June 24), has scored 116 goals for his country. He has also led his national team to a World Cup championship and two Copa America titles.
But unlike some of the other biggest names in sports, it wasn’t easy for Messi to climb to the top of international soccer. Much of his success has come within the past decade ... after he tried to retire from Argentina’s national team.
That’s right. Hard as it may be to believe now, there was once a time when Messi lost his love for events like the World Cup.
Ten years ago, after Argentina suffered a painful loss to Chile in the Copa America finals, Messi went so far as to tell reporters that he was finished with international soccer.
“I’m done playing with the national team,” he said at the time.
“It is evident that this is not for me,” he added. “I want more than anyone to win a title with the national team, but unfortunately, it did not happen.”
Messi later changed his mind and returned to the international stage with Argentina, but there is an alternate universe in which he stayed retired. In that hypothetical version of events, he would now be considered a hero in Barcelona and Miami, but not necessarily in his home country. Heck, it almost happened in this universe.
The statements he made about retirement 10 years ago sent shockwaves across the soccer landscape.
Reaching the final stage of four different continental and/or world championships — but never raising a trophy — took a toll on Messi. For whatever reason, he couldn’t duplicate the success he experienced at the club level with his national team.
His initial response was to go out on a low note. But he found new motivation a few months later and reversed his decision.
“A lot of things went through my mind on the night of the final, and I gave serious thought to quitting,” Messi said in a statement in 2016, when he announced his international return for World Cup qualifiers, “but my love for my country and this shirt is too great.
“I don’t want to cause harm, on the contrary, my goal was to help in any way I could. There are many things that need to be fixed in Argentine football. But I prefer to help from inside rather than stand on the outside and criticize. I want to thank all the fans who wanted me to keep playing for Argentina. I hope we can give them joy very soon.”
Messi delivered on that goal.
Ten years later, it feels strange that he ever thought about leaving international soccer.
But his retirement is once again a hot topic. At 38, Messi is clearly in the twilight of his career. He is still scoring goals for Inter Miami of Major League Soccer, but there is uncertainty about his future with Argentina.
Can he continue playing at a high-enough level to represent his country again in four years? Or will this be his sixth and final World Cup?
Given how much international success Messi has found since he tried to retire 10 years ago, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni is leaving the door open for more.
“He will play until he wants to,” Scaloni told Diario Ole, “because we already know what he is, and it is not surprising that he plays his sixth World Cup.”