‘I don’t see meaning in football without Mexico’: Guillermo Ochoa eying retirement post-World Cup

Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has said he doesn’t see meaning in football without the national team.

This is the 40-year-old’s sixth appearance in a men’s World Cup squad — a joint record with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo — and he has previously suggested he will hang up his gloves for Mexico once the co-hosts’ tournament ends.

In an emotional interview with FIFA as part of its ‘Letters That Unite’ series, in which he broke down in tears, Ochoa strongly hinted he would retire from football altogether once that happens.

“The Mexican national team has always been my compass in my career and my life; it’s given me direction,” he said.

“I can’t understand my career without the national team. I don’t know what my career would be like without the national team. And now that (my time with) the national team is ending, I don’t see any more meaning in football. I don’t see any more meaning in continuing to play.

“I’ve enjoyed each moment there. I gave it my all. I leave in peace, with my head held high and proud to have experienced this.”

Ochoa, who now plays for AEL Limassol in Cyprus at club level, was an unused substitute for Mexico in their opening 2026 World Cup group game against South Africa, with Guadalajara’s Raúl Rangel starting.

He became a hero for Mexico in the three editions of the tournament in which he has played (2014, 2018, 2022), with his saves helping them achieve standout results such as a goalless draw against holders Brazil in 2014 and a shock win against holders Germany in Russia four years later.

He was also part of the side that won a bronze medal for Mexico at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

When Ochoa joined up with Mexico’s pre-tournament squad in May, he wrote on X: “Today my final training camp starts.

“I’ve experienced impossible nights, eternal stadiums, hymns that still make me tremble and moments that changed my life forever.

“And even so … each time Mexico call me, something inside me begins again.”