Lionel Messi announced his retirement from the Argentina national team on August 31, 2026, closing a 21-year career of 207 caps and 125 goals. In 2016, at 29, he had already quit once, written off as a player who could not win for his country. This article traces how the verdict was rewritten in his final five years, and adds Japanese reactions from X, where the debate settled on timing rather than legacy.