Messi at 39: Retirement Looms as a Career of Icons Looks Back

Lionel Messi is facing the biggest decision of his life — and for once, it has nothing to do with a ball at his feet. After the death of his father, Jorge, the 39-year-old Argentina legend has openly admitted he isn't sure how much longer he'll keep playing. The football world is holding its breath.

According to BBC Sport, Messi — currently contracted to Inter Miami through 2028 — said in an emotional tribute to his father: "I don't know how to carry on. I used to just play football, and now I'm really not sure if I'll carry on doing it for much longer." Those words hit different when they come from a man who has scored 921 combined goals across Barcelona, Paris St-Germain, Inter Miami, and Argentina.

Let's take a look back at the moments that made him the greatest.

The Kid Who Conquered El Clasico

Messi's first career hat-trick didn't come in some low-stakes league game — it came in El Clasico. At 19 years old, he put all three of Barcelona's goals past Real Madrid in a 3-3 draw on March 10, 2007, capping it with a slick last-minute finish at the Camp Nou. That was the announcement.

Then, just five weeks later, he did that goal against Getafe in the Copa del Rey. Pick it up in his own half, beat five men, round the keeper, finish. Simple. The comparisons to Maradona's famous 1986 solo effort against England were immediate and entirely warranted.

Silencing the Doubters in Europe

In 2009, critics questioned whether Messi could deliver against English sides in the Champions League after going scoreless in ten appearances against Premier League opposition. He answered by heading home a Xavi cross in the Champions League final against Manchester United — his first European final, and the first major Messi vs. Ronaldo showdown on the biggest stage. He'd beat Ferguson's side again two years later for his third of four Champions League medals.

In 2010, Arsenal felt the full force as Messi bagged four goals in a 4-1 quarter-final first-leg win. The chip over keeper Manuel Almunia was the highlight. He followed that up with five goals in a 7-1 demolition of Bayer Leverkusen in 2012. His 129 Champions League goals put him second all-time, behind only Ronaldo.

Record After Record After Record

The numbers Messi put up during his Barcelona years are almost absurd to revisit. In March 2012, aged just 24, he broke a 60-year-old club scoring record — held by Cesar Rodriguez at 232 goals — with a hat-trick against Granada, finishing 5-3. By the time he left in 2021, that tally stood at 672, a full 446 clear of anyone else in the club's history.

That same year — 2012 — he scored 91 goals across club and country in just 69 games, earning a Guinness World Record and a fourth straight Ballon d'Or. Then in November 2014, he broke La Liga's all-time scoring record against Sevilla, surpassing Telmo Zarra's mark of 251 goals — set back in 1955. Messi would finish with 474 in the Spanish top flight, miles ahead of Ronaldo's 311.

The Goal, the 500th, and the Shirt

April 23, 2017. El Clasico at the Bernabeu. Injury time. Messi sweeps home a first-time shot from the edge of the area — his 500th Barcelona goal, an El Clasico winner, and a match-winner that sent Barca top of the table. He then ripped off his shirt and held it up for the Madrid crowd to read his name. Pure cinema.

Leaving Home and Finally Winning Everything

The tearful Barcelona farewell press conference in August 2021 remains one of sport's more gut-wrenching scenes. After 21 years, 672 goals, and 35 trophies, financial rules forced him out. He landed at PSG rather than Manchester City.

But the second half of his career brought the trophies that had eluded him. In July 2021, at 34, he won his first senior international trophy as Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in the Copa America final at the Maracana. And you can read how his World Cup scoring feats rewrote the history books in Qatar 2022, where he finally lifted the one trophy that had escaped him. He also delivered magic on the international stage well into his late 30s, proving age was never going to slow him down.

For a deeper look at the man behind the legend, his life off the pitch tells the story his goals can't fully capture.

Whatever Messi decides next, no one can touch what he's already done.