Lionel Messi’s greatest trophy is not the World Cup

Lionel Messi’s Barcelona story famously began with an agreement written on a napkin.

More than 25 years later, one of the biggest chapters of his football story has ended with another handwritten piece of paper.

Messi announced his retirement from international football with a handwritten note shared on social media.

For people who could not read Spanish, the meaning was not immediately clear. But once the translations started appearing, they realised they were reading a poignant farewell message from the greatest player of our generation.

And it hurt.

One sentence read: “I gave everything, I have nothing left to give.”

Yes, Leo. You did give everything.

And then came the note at the very end.

“I wrote these words on July 21, two days after the final. Today, after what happened with my dad, I’m even more convinced of this decision than before.”

Messi had written those words just two days after Argentina lost the World Cup final to Spain. After the death of his father, Jorge, it felt increasingly clear that this announcement was going to come.

Many fans were prepared for it.

But no amount of preparation was enough.

People who speak different languages and live in completely different parts of the world were struggling to process the same thing. Some might have cried.

Some held back their tears. But you felt that if someone had given them a hug at that exact moment, they might have burst into tears.

That is football.

Arrigo Sacchi once famously described football as the most important of the least important things in life.

And yet, for millions around the world, it is personal.

This is not only Messi closing a chapter of his life. For many of us, it feels like we are closing a chapter of our own as well.

That is the influence this man has had on so many lives.

The journey was cinematic

There were incredible highs and painful lows.

For years, Messi carried the burden of Diego Maradona on his shoulders.

He failed. He failed again. And again. He even thought of giving up in 2016.

But he came back.

And eventually, he conquered everything.

The Copa America in 2021. The World Cup in 2022. Another Copa America in 2024.

He completed football. And at 39, he produced one of the biggest carry jobs we have ever seen in the game, dragging Argentina to yet another final with eight goals and four assists.

And he did all of that while his father was seriously ill back home.

So what is Lionel Messi’s greatest trophy?

But if you ask me what the biggest trophy Lionel Messi has won in his career is, my answer would not be the World Cup.

It would not be the Copa America.

It would not be all those trophies he won with Barcelona.

It would not even be the Ballon d'Ors.

So what is it?

Just go and read the farewell messages from his teammates.

They are pure class, and you cannot read them without getting emotional.

Angel Di Maria wrote about how difficult it was to accept that Messi would no longer wear the Argentina shirt.

Rodrigo De Paul spoke about his leadership and humanity, and how Messi made those around him feel at home.

Lautaro Martinez spoke about everything Messi taught them away from the pitch: never giving up, trying again after setbacks and continuing to believe.

And then there was Enzo Fernandez.

His message probably summed up the influence Messi has had on an entire generation better than anything else.

Enzo recalled Messi’s first international retirement in 2016. He was still just a kid at the time and used to calculate the difference between his age and Messi’s to work out whether he would make it to the Argentina team before his idol stopped playing.

All he wanted was the chance to play alongside Messi once.

Messi came back.

Enzo made it.

And they did not just play together.

They became world champions together.

Enzo went from being a kid wondering whether he would ever get the chance to play with Messi to lifting the World Cup alongside him.

That is some journey.

And these are just a few samples.

There were farewell messages from so many of his teammates. Different words, different memories, but the same feeling seemed to run through them all.

Love and gratitude.

These are the people who shared a dressing room with him. The people who trained with him, played with him, won with him and lost with him.

So what is the biggest trophy Leo has won in his career?

It is the love of his teammates.

A proper team player.

A proper captain.

For years, people questioned Messi’s leadership because he was not the loudest voice in the dressing room or the most animated captain on the pitch.

But leadership comes in different forms.

Just look at how the people who actually played alongside him speak about him.

Look at how they fought for him.

Look at how much they love him.

His selfless nature made his teammates willing to give everything on the pitch alongside him.

That, for me, is the biggest trophy he has won in his life.

Messi will continue playing for Inter Miami, but we know there is not much time left.

And when that final day eventually arrives, football will continue.

Of course it will.

There will be new players, new superstars and new stories.

But for millions of people who grew up watching Lionel Messi, it will never quite feel the same.

Because Messi is not simply closing a chapter of his life.

For many of us, he is closing a chapter of ours too.