Messi says goodbye: thanks to God
The Inter Miami player closed his chapter with the Argentine national team by thanking his family, his teammates and God.
Messi says goodbye to the Argentine national team. The Inter Miami player announced on his Instagram account that he has already played his last match in the sky-blue and white jersey, in a message shared by the outlet Elbotola.
He did it with a post on his official Instagram account, a day after that last match. There he wrote that he is already starting to miss the sky-blue and white jersey, and that he is sure he is making the right decision.
In the same message he spoke of a wonderful journey, with joys and also with sorrows, and assured that every step he took was worth it. Nor do numbers appear in that balance: what appears is the certainty of having done the right thing.
«Gratitude that does not depend on the scoreboard can be practiced.»
A review with names, not with trophies
In the text there is a list worth reading slowly. It does not list titles. It lists people.
He named his family, who accompanied him and supported him in the hardest moments. He named his friends, his teammates, the coaches and the technical staffs. And the clubs he passed through, which respected his feelings and allowed him to go to the national team when the time came.
What he said about God
At the end of the post came the phrase that is repeated most these days: "thanks to God; because without his guidance and will, we wouldn't even dream of reaching where we have reached."
A public thank-you does not make anyone a teacher or a model of faith, and that must be said clearly. What it does leave is an open question: what if gratitude did not depend on the result?
Scripture points to that: "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18, ESV). That "in all circumstances" includes the day you lost, the day you were not called up and the day your body did not respond.
Setting your eyes on God does not guarantee titles or contracts, nor does it work as a formula to get them.
Idols also say goodbye
Messi keeps playing: the post presents him as an Inter Miami player. What ends is the national team jersey, the same one he says he will miss.
If you put your hope in a player, in a season or in a signing, you already know the ending: everyone says goodbye. Anyone who has seen their idol retire knows it. That does not take away admiration for what they do on the field; it only puts each thing in its place.
Maybe today it is not your turn to say goodbye to a national team, but to a neighborhood team, a school or a city. The underlying question is the same: what was your hope placed in?
Gratitude that does not depend on the scoreboard can be practiced.
This week, before going to sleep, write down three things you are grateful for from your day, even if the match did not go as you wanted. They do not have to be big things: a conversation, a plate of food, someone who wrote to you. And if you feel like it, tell us what you are grateful for when you do not win.
