Messi international retirement has saddened Hansi Flick, who hailed the 39-year-old Argentina legend as the world’s best player

Hansi Flick, Barcelona manager, has expressed sadness over Lionel Messi’s international retirement, describing the 39-year-old Argentina captain as the world’s best player after an extraordinary 21-year career with the national team.

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Flick made the remarks during an interview with DAZN on Monday, shortly after Messi formally announced his decision to end his international career.

The Barcelona manager said he particularly enjoyed watching Messi during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where Argentina reached the final before losing 1-0 to Spain after extra time.

“Time flies. That’s how it is, and of course, he’s the best player in the world, so it’s unbelievable,” Flick said.

“I also greatly enjoyed his performance in the World Cup. He was fantastic.”

Flick acknowledged that Messi’s departure would be difficult for football fans, but said the Argentine had earned the right to close the chapter after an extraordinary career.

“On the one hand, I’m truly sad, but in the end, that’s life, and he’s had a fantastic career,” Flick said.

“He is the best player in the world, and he proved it during the World Cup.”

Messi made his senior Argentina debut in 2005 and leaves the national team as the country’s most-capped player and leading goalscorer, with 207 appearances and 125 goals.

His international career ultimately became a remarkable story of redemption.

For years, Messi’s relationship with Argentina’s national team was marked by painful defeats, including losses in the 2014 World Cup final and the 2015 and 2016 Copa América finals.

He briefly announced his international retirement in 2016 after Argentina’s Copa América Centenario defeat to Chile, but reversed the decision and returned to the national team.

The comeback eventually transformed his international legacy.

Messi led Argentina to Copa América glory in 2021 before winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the defining achievement of his career with the national side. Argentina then won another Copa América in 2024.

The 2026 World Cup provided one final international stage.

Messi captained Argentina through another impressive campaign and helped the team reach the final, but Spain secured the trophy with a 1-0 extra-time victory.

The defeat was followed by weeks of reflection for Messi.

He revealed that he had written his retirement message on July 21, two days after the World Cup final, but delayed making the announcement public. FIFA reported that the death of his father, Jorge Messi, on August 8 ultimately reinforced his decision to step away.

Messi made the retirement official on August 31 through an emotional message on Instagram.

“It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deeply, but I understand that the time has come,” Messi wrote.

He also reflected on his commitment to Argentina, saying he had always given everything for the national team and wanted to leave with pride in what had been achieved.

The decision brings an end to more than two decades of international service, but it does not represent the end of Messi’s playing career.

The Argentine will continue playing club football with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.

For Barcelona, where Messi established himself as one of football’s defining figures, his retirement from Argentina duty also closes another chapter in a career that has connected generations of supporters.

Flick’s tribute carries an added resonance because of Messi’s enduring association with Barcelona, although the German coach’s current role began long after Messi’s departure from the Catalan club.

Messi’s international career will ultimately be remembered not simply for his statistics but for the extraordinary arc from repeated disappointment to sustained success.

His 207 appearances and 125 goals tell part of the story. The World Cup triumph, two Copa América titles and the emotional connection he developed with Argentina’s supporters tell the rest.

At 39, Messi now leaves the Argentina shirt behind as the country’s record appearance-maker and top scorer.

For Flick, however, the numbers only reinforce what he believes was already evident on the pitch.

Messi, he insists, remains the best player in the world.

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And although Flick admits that seeing him leave international football is “truly sad”, Messi’s Argentina career ends with the kind of legacy that once seemed impossible to secure.