Why did Lionel Messi say he is retiring from the Argentina national team?

Lionel Messi's international career is over. Or so he said after Argentina's loss on penalty kicks to Chile in the Copa America Centenario final on Sunday night. The 29-year-old told reporters, "the national team is over for me."

There was no indication that this might be it for Messi prior to the tournament. He's not young anymore, but he will still be plenty young enough at the 2018 World Cup to play a starring role, he has a good team in Argentina that can compete for a title and, until now, his commitment to the national team has never been questioned.

So why retire now? There are a few possibilities:

The devastation of losing in finals is too much

Messi has now lost four finals for Argentina and the continual disappointment has to wear on a man who is under immense pressure every time he pulls on the sky blue and white shirt.

Argentina have not won a trophy since 1993, a drought that began long before Messi started with the national team, but the desperation to finally add another trophy ends up on Messi. He has to deliver the breakthrough and get them back on top, as the captain and unquestioned centerpiece of the team.

It was one thing to lose in the 2007 Copa America final, when he wasn't the star he is now. The team didn't revolve around him and no one was calling him arguably the best player ever. But going out in the 2014 World Cup final in extra time was put on him. Then there was the penalty kick exit at the 2015 Copa America final and then penalties again at the Copa America Centenario final this year.

When Chile prevailed on Sunday night, Messi stood. He looked stunned, before pulling his shirt over his head. Eventually he sat down on the bench by himself before walking off the pitch in tears.

Messi was heartbroken, and maybe he isn't willing to go through that heartbreak again. Maybe he doesn't think he can win a trophy for Argentina. He hinted as much after the match.

"It's what I feel right now. It's a great sadness that it happened to me again, the fact that I missed a penalty kick that was very important. It's for the good of everybody. It's not enough to just get to the final and not win.

"It's not for me after four finals."

Playing for the national team has become a chore

Nothing Messi does for the national team is good enough and it never will be until he wins a trophy. He carries all the pressure and takes all the blame, but no matter how good he plays, the discussion always comes back to him never having won a trophy.

At some point, that has to be tough for a player to take. It's hard to find joy in playing for a team where everything barring winning a title is considered a failure and you are held responsible for that failure.

Problems with the Argentina FA

The Argentina federation is in shambles right now. Messi spoke out against the way they were treating the team last week and not long after, FIFA announced that they were taking over management of the federation because of the troubles it was having.

The federation currently has no president, is short on money and there are reports that FIFA will suspend them or even expel them altogether. While those extremes are unlikely, there is no questioning that the federation is extremely poorly run.

In the hours after the Copa America Centenario final, there were reports of several other international retirements coming, including Javier Mascherano, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero and Lucas Biglia. There was no word on why they were all going to step away, but they may be sick of dealing with the Argentina federation. They may not think it's worth playing for a federation in such shape. Or, they may think that the possibility of mass retirements will force them to get their house in order.

He's not retiring

After Messi said that he intended to retire from the national team, goalkeeper Sergio Romero said that he thought the comments could have been made in the heat of the moment and that Messi would reconsider. That's entirely possible.

After losing a third final in as many years, Messi was understandably hurt. Anyone who saw him crying on the pitch could see that he was in pain and, after a match like that, it's natural to want to get away from that for good.

Messi could reconsider in the coming days when the wounds aren't so fresh, and realize that he still wants to play for his country. It wouldn't be the first time a player said something immediately after a tough match, only to see things more clearly later.

This is all speculation. Right now, all we have is Messi saying that he is going to retire after the match and that the last four finals have hurt him. That leaves a lot of room for interpretation because he wasn't especially clear, nor was he overly definitive. He simply said that's how he felt and that he believes he's made a decision.

With the emotion involved, the drama surrounding the Argentina federation and the reports of mass retirements, Messi's announcement could be tied to any number of things and it could be multiple things. It could be final or it could not be. It's all a guessing game. Whether this is really it for Messi in an Argentina shirt and, if so, why, is still a story with more questions than answers. And that story will be the biggest in soccer in the coming days, or maybe even weeks and months.

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