Rabat – Lionel Messi’s final night with Argentina had almost everything his 21-year international career contained: tears, family, old teammates, a new generation waiting behind him and, inevitably, one last goal.
Argentina defeated Benin 3-0 at a packed Monumental in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, but the score was secondary long before kickoff. More than 85,000 supporters filled the stadium for the farewell of the player who leaves as Argentina’s record appearance holder and all-time leading scorer.
The emotion began before Messi reached the pitch. Thousands of supporters lined the route of the Argentina team bus, where cameras captured the 39-year-old wiping away tears.
Inside the stadium, a giant No. 10 Argentina shirt carrying the word “Gracias” formed part of the tribute. Messi then walked onto the field alongside his three sons, Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro.
The national anthem proved too much for both Messi and coach Lionel Scaloni. Argentina’s captain struggled to contain his emotions while the Monumental sang around him. Ten minutes into the match, play stopped for an ovation dedicated to the number he made inseparable from his name.
One last contribution
Argentina had to wait until after halftime for the goals, and Messi played a role in all three.
His first assist found Nicolas Otamendi, who was also making his final appearance for Argentina after sharing the national team with Messi for 17 years. Messi later created the second for Nico Paz one of the younger players expected to take on greater responsibility in Argentina’s next chapter.
Then came Messi’s own ending.
He converted a penalty for Argentina’s third goal, taking his international tally to 126. The familiar chants of “Messi, Messi” rolled around the Monumental once more.
There was something fitting about the sequence. Messi helped one longtime teammate leave with a goal, helped a younger player score another, then took the final one himself.
After the whistle, players from Argentina and Benin gathered around him before the celebrations continued with lights, fireworks, music and a drone display above the stadium.
Argentina’s football federation said the evening concluded with performances from Soledad Pastorutti and Ulises Bueno before Messi addressed the crowd.
“Not coming anymore is going to hurt a lot,” Messi told the stadium after the match.
He also pondered the years when success with Argentina seemed permanently out of reach. According to the AFA, Messi told supporters that even during the most difficult periods he never stopped fighting for the national team. He described representing Argentina as “the most beautiful thing that can happen to you.”
From doubt to devotion
That relationship was not always this simple.
Messi made his senior Argentina debut against Hungary in August 2005. He entered as an 18-year-old substitute and was sent off moments later. FIFA records the appearance at roughly 90 seconds.
The years that followed brought extraordinary individual numbers but also persistent questions at home. Some Argentine supporters criticized Messi for failing to reproduce his Barcelona success with the national team and questioned his emotional connection to the shirt.
After another painful Copa America final defeat in 2016, he briefly walked away from international football. Public reaction to that decision became part of a gradual change in his relationship with the country.
He returned, and the trophies eventually followed.
Messi captained Argentina to the Copa America in 2021, the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and another Copa America title in 2024. He later took the team back to a World Cup final in 2026 before announcing that his international career was coming to an end.
He leaves with 208 appearances, 126 goals and 70 assists for Argentina.
Perhaps the symmetry says more than the numbers. Messi’s first senior night for Argentina ended with an 18-year-old alone and in tears after a red card in Budapest. More than two decades later, his final one ended in tears too. This time, an entire stadium was crying with him.
