Piers Morgan reignites football’s greatest debate after Messi announces international retirement

Piers Morgan has used Lionel Messi’s decision to retire from international football to argue that Cristiano Ronaldo should be regarded as the greatest player in football history.

Messi, the Argentina great, announced his decision on Monday, bringing his international career to an end after scoring 125 goals for his country. That total places him second in the all-time international scoring standings, according to Morgan.

Posting on X, the British broadcaster wrote:

“BREAKING: Lionel Messi quits international football having scored 125 goals for Argentina, the second-highest number in football history.@CristianoRonaldo has scored 146 goals for Portugal, the highest in football history.This settles the 🐐debate.pic.twitter.com/QcMc6m0ys2”

Morgan then reinforced his view that Ronaldo’s international scoring record had settled the long-running argument over which player is the best of all time.

“Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 146 goals with Portugal, which is the highest number in the history of football at international level. This settles the debate over the identity of the best player in history,” he said.

Morgan is known to have a close friendship with Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Al Nassr and represents Portugal.

Messi confirmed his retirement in an official statement published on his Instagram account. He said the decision had followed a long period of reflection after the final.

“After all this time since the final, and after a great deal of thought, I want to announce to everyone that I have decided to retire from playing for the national team,” Messi wrote.

He acknowledged that leaving Argentina duty had been a painful decision, but said he believed the time had come to step away.

“It was a painful decision and it still hurts me deeply, but I understand that the time has come. I swear to you that I have always given everything I had, not only during the past few years when we achieved everything, but before that as well. I always fought and gave everything I had for this shirt, to make you happy and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football,” he added.

Messi’s international career has brought him 125 goals for Argentina, while Ronaldo’s 146 goals for Portugal remain the higher total cited by Morgan in the debate.

The two players have dominated discussions about the greatest footballer of their generation for more than a decade. Morgan’s latest comments favour Ronaldo, with the broadcaster presenting the Portugal captain’s international scoring record as decisive evidence in that argument.

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