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Lionel Messi bids farewell to Argentina in packed stadium
Confirmed
In Short: Lionel Messi will play his final match for Argentina on Tuesday, drawing a crowd of 85,000 fans.
Lionel Messi will bring his illustrious career with Argentina to a close on Tuesday in a friendly match against Benin at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
The 39-year-old superstar will be joined by 85,000 spectators and several teammates who helped him win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Messi announced his retirement from international football in August, stating, “I gave it my all. I have nothing left to give, and besides, there are great young players coming up who deserve their chance.”
Argentina’s new generation, including Franco Mastantuono and Leonel Flores, will also be present, with many of them not even born when Messi made his debut in 2005.
Coach Lionel Scaloni emphasized the significance of the event, saying, “It’s going to be an unforgettable day for everyone. Everyone wants to be at this match, and now it’s just about enjoying it.”
The match will feature a special-edition jersey inspired by the national flag, with Messi’s commercial logo on the right breast and golden trims on the collar and sleeves.
Tickets for the match sold out on the day they went on sale, with unofficial resale sites listing them at prices starting at AR$800,000 (US$512).
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) will host a “Gracias, Leo” Fan Fest starting at 12 p.m., with live music, entertainment, food, games, and interactive experiences.
The event will be held at the University of Buenos Aires sports field, located in front of the River Plate stadium, and the match will be shown on a giant screen installed specially for the event.
While Messi’s retirement marks the end of an era, Argentina’s future is beginning to take shape, with the team rallying around the emerging talent.
Coach Scaloni noted, “Collectively, we will try to fill the void left by Leo,” as he negotiates a contract extension.
The question of who will inherit Messi’s number 10 shirt remains, with Scaloni stating, “We won’t give the number 10 to anyone until Leo’s match takes place.”
What this adds
The match against Benin will mark Messi's final appearance as Argentina's record appearance-maker and leading scorer with 125 goals in 207 games.
What's confirmed
- Lionel Messi will bring his illustrious career with Argentina to a close on Tuesday in a friendly match against Benin at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
- The 39-year-old superstar will be joined by 85,000 spectators and several teammates who helped him win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
- Argentina’s new generation, including Franco Mastantuono and Leonel Flores, will also be present, with many of them not even born when Messi made his debut in 2005.
- The match will feature a special-edition jersey inspired by the national flag, with Messi’s commercial logo on the right breast and golden trims on the collar and sleeves.
- Tickets for the match sold out on the day they went on sale, with unofficial resale sites listing them at prices starting at AR$800,000 (US$512).
- The Argentine Football Association (AFA) will host a “Gracias, Leo” Fan Fest starting at 12 p.m., with live music, entertainment, food, games, and interactive experiences.
- The event will be held at the University of Buenos Aires sports field, located in front of the River Plate stadium, and the match will be shown on a giant screen installed specially for the event.
- While Messi’s retirement marks the end of an era, Argentina’s future is beginning to take shape, with the team rallying around the emerging talent.
- Coach Scaloni noted, “Collectively, we will try to fill the void left by Leo,” as he negotiates a contract extension.
What's still developing
- Messi remains under contract with Inter Miami until 2028 although after the death of his father, Jorge, two months ago, he revealed he may hang up his boots for good sooner than anticipated.
- Argentina’s new generation has already shown what it can do without its captain although nobody is pretending that replacing a man regarded by many as the greatest footballer in history will be straightforward.
- Like Messi and Otamendi, midfielders Rodrigo De Paul and Giovani Lo Celso were called up solely for the Benin game, raising the possibility that neither will represent Argentina again.
- They have already begun to rally around Messi’s heirs, who showed their appetite for success in Argentina’s first game since the World Cup final, against Bolivia in Cordoba on Wednesday.
- After more than two decades of service to his country, the 39-year-old superstar will hand over the captain’s armband for good as he makes his final appearance in the Albiceleste jersey on Tuesday at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
- Messi will also bow out as Argentina’s record appearance-maker and leading scorer with 125 goals in 207 games as well as a record 68 assists.
- His farewell comes two and a half months after Argentina’s ill-tempered World Cup final defeat to Spain in New Jersey, where Messi exited in tears after making little impression.
- Members of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad and their families will join Messi for Tuesday’s farewell against Benin, ranked 93rd in the world.
- For the match, the squad will wear a special-edition jersey inspired by the national flag, featuring two sky-blue stripes and a wide white one in the middle, with the Sol de Mayo (Sun of May) in the center.
- Argentina time, with activities planned for the whole day.
- On announcing his retirement in the weeks after his father's passing, he said he had "nothing left to give".
- Plenty of 39 year olds have long since succumbed to the aches and strains of middle age, Messi was breezing through one v ones more successfully than Vinicius Junior or Bradley Barcola.