Lionel Messi’s 21-year career in the Argentina shirt ended on Tuesday at Buenos Aires’ Estadio Monumental, in a friendly against Benin built around the farewell. The match was billed as “The Night That No One Wants to End.”
The game was an unusual one for a player who had already retired. Messi confirmed in August that he was stepping away from international football after Argentina’s World Cup final defeat to Spain.
The loss was 1-0, and it came shortly before the death of his father, Jorge. Many supporters had assumed the final was the last time they would see him in the sky-blue and white stripes.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) then arranged one more appearance. AFA president Claudio Tapia said he and coach Lionel Scaloni wanted Messi to have “the goodbye he truly deserves” at home.
Read More: Kazakhstan Phygital Football Team Names Spain, Mexico Among Top Rivals
The AFA also invited all of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winners and their families to attend. Messi leaves with a set of records.
He is Argentina’s most-capped player and top scorer, with 125 goals in 207 games and a record 68 assists. He won Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024, and the 2022 World Cup. The Benin game was his 208th and last cap.
The night also marked a handover. Defender Cristian Romero is set to inherit the captain’s armband Messi first wore at the 2010 World Cup, while Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández and Julián Álvarez are expected to lead the side.
Vice-captain Nicolás Otamendi was also playing his farewell, and midfielders Rodrigo De Paul and Giovani Lo Celso were called up only for this game. Newcomers such as Franco Mastantuono were not yet born when Messi debuted in 2005.
Messi himself kept his public comments brief. He posted photos of his arrival and final training sessions, calling them “special moments I know I will miss.”
Argentina’s future remains unsettled. Scaloni’s contract expires at the end of the year and has not yet been renewed. One question was still open going into the night: who will inherit Messi’s No. 10 shirt.
Messi’s playing career continues at club level. His contract with Inter Miami runs through the 2028 MLS season. For Argentina, though, the monumental farewell closes the most successful chapter in the national team’s history.
