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Football legend Lionel Messi retires from Argentina’s national football squad

Lionel Messi said it was a decision that hurt deep inside

Lionel Messi Carl Recine/ Getty Images

Lionel Messi

© Carl Recine/ Getty Images

BUENOS AIRES, August 31. /TASS/. World’s renowned footballer Lionel Messi announced on Monday a decision to retire from his national football team of Argentina.

"After all this time since the final, and after thinking about it a lot, I want to tell everyone that I’m retiring from the national team," the footballer stated on his Instagram channel (banned in Russia as it’s owned by Meta Corporation, which is designated as an extremist organization in Russia).

"It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep inside, but I understand that this is the right moment," Messi added.

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