Lionel Messi said goodbye to international soccer Tuesday night, scoring a penalty and setting up Argentina’s other two goals in a 3-0 victory over Benin, closing a 21-year national team career that left Argentina facing a once-unimaginable future without him, the Associated Press reported.
Messi, 39, ended his time in sky blue and white with 126 goals in 208 appearances, two Copa América titles and a World Cup championship. What would otherwise have been an unremarkable friendly became a national event in a soccer-obsessed country that had long dreaded the day.
“It feels like an era is ending, knowing he won’t play for the national team anymore,” said Valentino Ruso, 17, who was heading to a friend’s house in Buenos Aires to watch the game. “I’m sad. I think everyone is upset today.”
What Happened on the Pitch
The match was goalless at halftime. Four minutes after the restart, Messi swung in a corner that Nicolás Otamendi, who was also playing his last game for Argentina, put away for the opener, the Daily Mail reported. Otamendi had shared 17 years and four World Cups with Messi on the national team, according to Reuters. Messi then set up Nico Paz, one of the players seen as a possible heir to the No. 10 shirt, for the second goal, and he finished the night by converting a penalty for 3-0, his 126th international goal.
Messi also came close earlier, with a sliding shot from a Rodrigo De Paul pass that rolled just wide and a free kick that was tipped away, the Daily Mail said.
When the final whistle blew, teammates, opponents and the referee gathered around Messi as his eyes glistened. A drone show lit the sky, and singer Soledad Pastorutti performed as part of the tribute. A banner at midfield called him the “Eternal Captain,” and fans in the stands chanted his name and bowed toward him. Goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez had shaved Messi’s “M” logo into the back of his head for the occasion, the Daily Mail reported.
“I don’t want to leave this field,” Messi told the crowd, which roared as if he had scored. “I’m grateful to God to be Argentine.” He said in remarks reported by Reuters that his first thought was of his father, who died recently, and that playing for Argentina was the most beautiful thing that can happen to a player. The Daily Mail quoted him calling it perhaps the saddest day of his career.
A Nation’s Farewell
The Argentine soccer federation billed the game, Messi’s 208th for the national team, as “the last tango.” More than 85,000 tickets to the Monumental, Buenos Aires’ largest stadium, sold out in 90 minutes and later resold for more than $2,500 each. Players from Argentina’s 1978, 1986 and 2022 World Cup-winning squads returned to see him off, and his family watched from the stands.
Hours earlier, thousands lined the route as the team bus left the training center that bears his name, and Messi was seen wiping away tears, according to Reuters. A giant No. 10 shirt reading “Gracias” was unfurled in his hometown of Rosario, and the Obelisk in Buenos Aires glowed sky blue and white. In recent weeks newspapers have run tributes, murals have appeared across the country, and a 26-meter (85-foot) statue of Messi kneeling with the World Cup trophy has stood over motorists in Patagonia since June, AP said.
Rodrigo De Paul wrote on Instagram that he did not know if a player and a nation had ever shared a love story as great as Messi’s with Argentina.
A Complicated Relationship
Argentines had an intense and often unforgiving relationship with the shy boy who left Rosario at 13 for Barcelona’s youth academy. As he became a global icon, many compatriots questioned his commitment to his home country. Some saw an outsider who had never played professionally in Argentina and who seemed to buckle under their expectations, and crowds chanted the name of Diego Maradona, the hero of the 1986 World Cup victory, as a reminder of a standard he had yet to meet.
“There’s some resentment by the people that stay in Argentina for those who leave,” said Andrés Rabinovich, a University of Chicago scholar who studies soccer’s place in Argentine culture. After Argentina lost a third straight final in 2016, Messi briefly quit the national team.
The turning point came in 2021, when Argentina beat Brazil to win the Copa América for the first time in 28 years and Messi collapsed on the turf in tears. “Winning clearly disarmed his critics. That’s how soccer works in Argentina,” said Diego Murzi, a sports sociologist at Conicet, the national scientific research council. The World Cup victory in Qatar the following year cemented his status as a national hero, with millions of Argentines pouring into the streets.
Life After Messi
Messi’s contract with Inter Miami runs through the 2028 season, so he will keep playing in Major League Soccer. His announcement on Aug. 31 that he would retire from the national team, made weeks after Argentina lost the World Cup final to Spain, set off an outpouring of gratitude and grief.
“I don’t think we’ll have somebody like him again,” said Pablo Brescia, a University of South Florida professor who writes about Argentine culture and soccer. “Like Maradona, he’ll be unique.”
As the crowd lingered after the match, Messi took a final lap of the stadium, was joined at the center circle by his family and then raised his arms toward the stands at the tunnel before leaving the field.
Differing Accounts
Reports differed slightly on attendance, with the AP and Reuters citing more than 85,000 fans and the Daily Mail saying more than 80,000. Messi’s speech was also rendered differently across outlets. The AP had him saying he was grateful to God to be Argentine, while the Daily Mail quoted him as saying he was proud to be Argentinian. The Daily Mail also counted an Olympic gold medal among his honors, which the AP’s career summary did not list.
What Happens Next
Argentina now begins a new chapter without its most decorated player. Paz and other younger players are expected to be tested as potential successors, while Messi turns his attention fully to Inter Miami.
Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, Reuters and the Daily Mail
