I really didn’t think this day was coming, but it happened. Messi leaving the national team means that he is one step closer to his real retirement, and I am not ready for that. It feels crazy knowing that the player I grew up watching and supporting will eventually play his final game. His journey with Argentina was not always easy. After losing the 2014 World Cup final and the 2015 and 2016 Copa América finals, Messi even announced his retirement from international football in 2016, only to return a few months later. He kept fighting, and everything eventually changed when he won the 2021 Copa América and then the 2022 World Cup, finally bringing the trophy that so many people wanted to see him win. He later won another Copa América in 2024, adding even more to his incredible legacy with Argentina. Now, seeing him step away from the national team feels like watching a chapter of my childhood slowly come to an end. I know one day there will be a final game, a final goal, a final celebration, and the final time we get to see Messi wear the Argentina shirt. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that moment. He wasn’t just a football player to me; he was someone I watched, looked up to, and grew up with. When he finally walks away from football, it will feel like saying goodbye to a part of my childhood. Thank you, Leo, for every goal, every trophy, every memory, and for never giving up when it seemed like the dream would never happen. No matter what happens from here, I’ll always be grateful that I got to live in the same era as Lionel Messi.