BUENOS AIRES — Lionel Messi announced his retirement from the Argentina national team Monday, ending a 21-year international career that included a long-awaited World Cup title, in an emotional Instagram post that came weeks after his father's death and Argentina's runner-up finish at this summer's World Cup.

Messi, 39, shared the news in a lengthy statement posted to his social media accounts, accompanied by an image of a handwritten notebook entry. "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," Messi wrote. "It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep inside, but I understand that this is the right moment. I swear I always gave everything, not only in these last few years when we won everything, but before that too. I always fought and gave everything for this shirt, to bring you happiness and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football."

Messi added a footnote explaining the statement had actually been written weeks earlier, shortly after Argentina's World Cup final defeat. "I wrote these........

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