“Lionel Messi quits international football having scored 125 goals for Argentina, the second-highest number in football history.”

By Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) · Posted 31 Aug 2026 · checked 24 Oct 2026 · 90% confidence

What they posted

BREAKING: * Lionel Messi quits international football having scored 125 goals for Argentina, the second-highest number in football history. * @Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 146 goals for Portugal, the highest in football history. This settles the 🐐debate. https://t.co/QcMc6m0ys2

Why it's Truth

BBC, Reuters, AP, and The Guardian (all reporting on the August 31 announcement) confirm Messi retired with 125 goals, second to Ronaldo's 146; final tally reached 126 after October match per Sporting News and Wikipedia. Exact match on figures and ranking across independent sources.

Sources

• BBC Sport
• Reuters
• AP News
• The Guardian
• The Athletic
• Sporting News
• Wikipedia
• The Athletic