World champion Angel Di Maria will retire from the Argentine national soccer team at the Copa America next summer after almost 16 years. The 35-year-old striker from Portuguese record champions Benfica Lisbon announced his decision via Instagram.
“The Copa is the last time I will wear Argentina’s jersey. With pain in my soul and a lump in my throat, I say ‘goodbye’ to the best thing that has happened to me in my career,” said Di Maria after 136 international matches ( 29 goals) for the South Americans.
By winning the World Cup title with the Albiceleste, Di Maria crowned his illustrious and successful career in the Argentine national team in Qatar last year. The star striker had previously celebrated further triumphs in the national uniform at the last Copa 2021 and at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
At club level, Di Maria won the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2014 and the Spanish championship two years earlier. The striker won the French championship title five times with Paris St. Germain and won the Portuguese crown once at Benfica during his first engagement. In contrast, his engagements with the record champions Manchester United in England and most recently Juventus Turin in Italy did not result in any title success.
Argentina is aiming to successfully defend its title at the Copa America 2024 in the USA (June 20 to July 14) with Di Maria and, above all, superstar Lionel Messi. The South American Championship, which has been played since 1916 and has traditionally been played with a Central American guest team in recent years, will take place outside of “home” latitudes for only the second time next year, after the USA had already acted as host at the Copa America in 2016. Eight years later, the oldest national tournament in football serves as a test run for the 2026 World Cup finals, also in the USA, Canada and Mexico.