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Lionel Messi, the Inter Miami star, announced his retirement from international football with the Argentina national team on Monday.
Messi wrote, in an official statement posted on his Instagram account: "After all this time since the final match, and after long reflection, I want to announce to everyone that I have decided to retire from playing with the national team."
He added: "It was a painful decision and it still hurts me deep down, but I realise that the time has come. I swear to you that I always gave everything I had, not only during the recent years in which we achieved everything, but before that too, and I always fought and gave all I have for this shirt, to make you happy and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football."
He continued: "There is not much left, and the stages have begun to reach their end, and this is one of them that hurts me greatly. I love, I have loved, and I will always love being with the national team. I have exhausted everything I have, and I no longer have any more to give, alongside the presence of a group of wonderful young players who deserve to get their chance."
He went on: "Thank you for all this love over 20 years. I will miss hearing your voices from inside the stadium very much, and now I will become one of you, always supporting and backing the national team from the outside, in good times and bad, and especially in the difficult times."
The 38-year-old added: "Thank you to my family for always being by my side, and for accompanying me on this very beautiful journey, despite its difficulty. Thank you to every coach, teammate and official I had the chance to share this journey with. I will carry with me unforgettable memories and moments that I lived throughout all this period."
He concluded: "I leave feeling at ease and proud because, together with my teammates, I gave you moments we had always dreamed of. It was madness to live all of that with you. I love you! Thank God for making me Argentine. Long live Argentina!"
Messi then added a note beneath the statement: "I wrote these words on 21 July, two days after the final match. And today, after what happened to my father, I am more convinced of the decision than ever."
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