"It's sad that he has retired from international play." That's Robert Griffin III — former NFL quarterback, not lifelong soccer obsessive — genuinely cut up about Lionel Messi stepping away from Argentina duty.
Messi confirmed his international retirement on August 31 via Instagram, ending a 21-year senior career that produced 125 goals and 60 assists across 207 appearances. The 2022 World Cup was the last piece. Once he had it, the argument was settled. Apparently, so was he.
What Messi meant beyond the pitch
Griffin's connection to Messi goes back to 2015, when Argentina visited Washington D.C. for a friendly against El Salvador. Messi trained at FedEx Field — then home of Griffin's Redskins — and Griffin turned up alongside NHL star Alex Ovechkin to watch. He handed Messi a custom No. 10 Washington jersey with his name on it. Not a bad Tuesday.
Since then, Griffin has been unambiguous about where Messi sits in the pantheon. "Lionel Messi is the Michael Jordan of Football," he posted in June 2026. "No one compares to him." That's a specific comparison with real weight — Jordan's six rings, his era-defining dominance, the way his opponents knew they were beaten before tip-off. Griffin sees the same thing in Messi's eight Ballon d'Ors, four Champions League titles, and that World Cup winner's medal.
But what clearly hits hardest for Griffin is the personal angle. He has four daughters — Reese Ann, Gloria, Gameya, and Gia — and Messi, diagnosed with Growth Hormone Deficiency at 11 and rebuilt by Barcelona's medical programme into the best footballer the world has seen, became their reference point for what's possible. "His legacy isn't found in how many goals he has scored," Griffin wrote. "It's in how he impacts, influences, and inspires us all. Our little girls are the proof."
The club career continues
Messi isn't done with football. He remains contracted to Inter Miami CF, which means American fans — Griffin and his daughters included — still get to watch him. That's kept Inter Miami's matchday interest at a level no other MLS club can touch, and it's not changing any time soon.
What is gone is Argentina. The shirt, the pressure, the quadrennial weight of a nation needing him to deliver. He delivered. In his own words: "I swear that I always gave everything... I always fought and gave everything for this shirt, to bring you joy and make you proud to be Argentine through football."
Hard to argue with that exit statement.
