AFA president says Messi will decide his retirement timing

The president of the Argentina Football Association, Claudio Tapia, has stated that the decision on when Lionel Messi will retire from international football rests solely with the 39-year-old superstar. Tapia made the comments in a television interview on August 7, emphasizing that the association will not pressure Messi following Argentina's run to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.

Messi, who turned 39 in June, delivered a standout performance at the tournament hosted in the United States, scoring eight goals and providing four assists. He broke Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup scoring record during the competition, though he was later surpassed by France's Kylian Mbappé, who finished with 22 goals. Argentina's campaign ended with a 1-0 extra-time loss to Spain in the final last month.

Tapia praised Messi's leadership and form, calling him the flag bearer of the team and suggesting he played one of his best World Cups. He noted that Messi's future was similarly uncertain after the 2022 triumph in Qatar, with the player taking a match-by-match approach that led to another stellar tournament four years later. Under coach Lionel Scaloni, Messi has been central to Argentina's...