Lionel Messi’s Emotional Farewell: “This Jersey Was My Dream, My Pride and My Life”
The match against Benin marked Messi’s 208th appearance with the national team. Photo: EFE.
October 6, 2026 Hour: 11:15 pm
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More than 80,000 Argentina fans packed River Plate’s stadium in Buenos Aires for Lionel Messi’s last match with the national team on Tuesday.
The friendly game was organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA) as the official send-off after Messi announced his international retirement on August 31, following the 2026 World Cup final against Spain.
RELATED: Lionel Messi Named Doctor Honoris Causa by Argentina’s Top University
The stadium, packed with around 85,000 people, became a stage of tribute for a captain who arrived at his farewell after 21 years with the team, 208 appearances including this one, and the record as the national team’s all-time top scorer.
“For the last time wearing the shirt number 10, our captain, the top scorer in the history of the Argentine national team. The legend Lionel Andrés Messi”, expressed the voice of the stadium to announce the beginning of an unforgettable night.
Lionel Messi played his final match for Argentina in the best possible way, converting a penalty for his 126th goal with the national team in a 3-0 win over Benin at the Monumental stadium, after which the entire squad gathered around the captain to celebrate in a circle.
The goal came after a foul on Agustín Giay. Chilean referee Fernando Véjar awarded a penalty for a kick by a rival defender inside the area. Messi took the ball, placed it on the spot and struck a powerful left-footed shot into the top corner, beating Benin goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou.
After the conversion, the whole Argentine squad surrounded Messi, a gesture that reflected the emotional atmosphere of the night at River Plate’s stadium. From a box, his partner, Antonela Roccuzzo, and his mother, Celia Cuccittini, also celebrated the goal, filming the moment as an ovation rolled through the stands.
The tribute capped a night that had begun hours earlier in tears. Messi appeared moved during the trip that carried the squad from the Ezeiza training complex to the Monumental, as a spontaneous caravan of supporters surrounded the team bus along the route.
Inside the stadium, the emotion returned during the pre-match ceremony. Malvinas veteran Fabio Santana performed the Argentine national anthem beside a flag bearing the inscription “Malvinas are Argentine” (“Las Malvinas son argentinas”). When the song ended, Messi could not hold back tears. Coach Lionel Scaloni wept too.
Minute 10, Number 10
Chilean referee Fernando Véjar stopped Argentina’s friendly against Benin at the 10-minute mark at the Monumental stadium on Tuesday, matching the shirt number Lionel Messi wore for most of his career, as more than 80,000 fans applauded and chanted for the captain in his farewell match.
During the stoppage, several Benin players approached the Argentine captain to greet him, a gesture that added to the collective recognition from the crowd. Fireworks thundered along the side of the pitch while the tribute unfolded.
The Chilean referee’s decision to halt play at minute 10 was deliberate. The number carries the weight of two decades, the shirt Messi wore through the defining years of his career with the Albiceleste.
Gratitude to Argentina
“It’s hard to say something today, there are a lot of emotions, a lot of things are crossing my mind. Obviously the first thing I think about is my dad,” Messi began with a thought for his father, Jorge. Pausing for a few moments as the crowd rose in a full ovation. The stadium was recognizing his effort at the World Cup, where he competed at full strength even as his father’s health was poor.
“It was a great pride to defend this shirt for these more than 20 years,” he affirmed. He added that even in the worst moments, he never stopped fighting or giving his maximum. “Not coming anymore is going to be a great pain. I swear I would like to come my whole life. Playing for the Argentina national team is the nicest thing that can happen to you.”
He also explained why he decided to step away. “The last World Cup was too much, everything I had to live through,” he said, adding that the team was lucky “to fulfill my dream and that of the whole country, to be world champions again.”
Behind him on the stage stood the young players who accompanied him in the final stretch alongside the winners of Qatar, from Ángel Di María and Nicolás Otamendi to Franco Mastantuono and Leonardo Flores, along with Julián Álvarez, Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Paredes and Nico Paz.
Message to Fans
Lionel Messi thanked his teammates directly. “They made me fulfill my childhood dream, to be world champion, Copa América champion, Finalissima champion. It was a great pride to share the pitch and also life outside it with them: it was going out to compete with warriors who were going to give their lives,” he said.
He also asked fans to support the new generation of footballers of the national team. “Now I’m going to be on that side, with all of you backing these kids and those who come. Always united. It was proven that when we come together and are united, we are stronger than anyone,” he said. “Hard moments will surely come, what was achieved is not normal, and we have to be even closer. To achieve big goals, you have to build united groups.”
He closed by recalling the Monumental as the site of “one of the happiest days of my career,” the friendly game after the 2022 World Cup win.
River Plate Honors Messi
Lionel Messi was named an honorary member of River Plate on Tuesday, just minutes before his final match with the Argentina national team, receiving a plaque, a club jersey and a membership card from club president Stefano Di Carlo in the locker room of the Monumental stadium.
The ceremony took place before Argentina’s friendly against Benin, the game chosen for the captain’s farewell. In a post on X, River described the occasion as a historic day and said the “best player of all time” had received the card, a commemorative plaque and the club’s famous jersey bearing his name. The club closed its message with a simple thank-you for the football he has given.
The membership card includes a special detail that has drawn attention among fans. Where the member number would normally appear, it reads “ARG1812022.” That is the date of the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, December 18, 2022, when Argentina beat France on penalties to win its third star, with Lionel Messi as its leader and standout player.
Messi also received River’s No. 10 shirt with his surname on it. The gesture carries extra symbolism, because the Rosario-born forward could have played for the club in his youth. When he left Newell’s Old Boys, his family could not afford his growth hormone treatment. He had a trial at River and impressed, but he ultimately moved to Barcelona, where his extraordinary career began.
University’s Recognition
The River ceremony was only one of several emotional moments for the 39-year-old football player. Before leaving for the Monumental, Messi received an honorary doctorate from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) at the national team’s training complex in Ezeiza.
“It’s a pride and on a very special day. I know it’s going to be difficult and I’m going to try to enjoy it. I’m calm, but as the moment comes it gets a little more complicated. Starting it this way makes it so much more special,” Messi said. He admitted that the closer the match got, the harder it became, so starting the day with this recognition made it even more meaningful.
Text reads: “It is an honor to be able to say that I am Honorary Doctor”. Messi after receiving the “Doctor Honoris Causa” award, by Buenos Aires University (UBA).”
Lionel Messi leaves the Argentina national team after 21 years, from 2005 to 2026, as its all-time top scorer and most-capped player, with 125 goals scored in 207 senior international appearances, surpassing Gabriel Batistuta in goals and Javier Mascherano in matches played.
At the FIFA World Cup, Messi played in six tournaments, appearing in 34 matches and scoring 21 goals. Messi lifted the America Cup in 2021 and 2024, the Finalissima in 2022 and the World Cup in Qatar that same year. “We had the dream of being world champions again“, Messi told to the public.
He also finished as a World Cup runner-up in Brazil in 2014 and in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026. At youth level, he won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008 and the Under-20 World Cup in 2005.
Lionel Messi’s journey began on August 17, 2005, against Hungary in Budapest, when he was sent off less than a minute after coming on as a substitute. Twenty-one years later, his sport legacy will be remembered as a story of resilience and, above all, glory.
Author: Laura V. Mor
Source: AFA / Agencies
