Lionel Messi says he's retiring from playing internationally for Argentina

He said he wrote his retirement letter after the World Cup final in July, but waited to publish it because his father was facing health issues that eventually claimed his life.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2668x1793+0+0/resize/2668x1793!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2Fe1%2Fb87fd07944ea9822c5c3e8a41d18%2Fap26243558202760.jpg' alt='Argentina's Lionel Messi scores his team's second goal during the group F World Cup soccer match against Bosnia in Rio de Janeiro, June 15, 2014.'/><p>He said he wrote his retirement letter after the World Cup final in July, but waited to publish it because his father was facing health issues that eventually claimed his life.</p><p>(Image credit: Sergei Grits)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5950427' />