Casablanca — Neymar paid an emotional tribute to Lionel Messi on Tuesday ahead of the Argentine captain’s final international appearance.
In a statement that the Brazilian shared on his social media accounts, he thanked his former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain teammate for his impact on football.
Messi is due to wear the Argentina shirt for the final time against Benin at the Monumental in Buenos Aires, closing an international career spanning more than two decades. The 39-year-old enters his farewell with 207 appearances and a record 125 goals for Argentina.
“Today is your last game wearing the shirt of your national team, your country, and I hope you enjoy every second,” Neymar wrote in a message to Messi.
The Brazilian forward said the occasion extended far beyond Argentina, adding: “It’s not only Argentina that thanks you, the world thanks you for everything you have done for football.”
Their relationship has been one of the defining friendships of their generation. Neymar joined Messi at Barcelona in 2013, where the pair, alongside Luis Suarez, formed one of the most prolific attacking trios in European football, known as MSN. They later reunited at Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 before Messi left the French club two years later.
Their international careers also placed them on opposite sides of the Argentina-Brazil rivalry, including the 2021 Copa América final, when Messi’s Argentina defeated Brazil at the Maracana to win his first senior international title.
That triumph became part of a late-career transformation of Messi’s relationship with the national team. He went on to lift the 2022 World Cup and another Copa América in 2024 before announcing his international retirement following Argentina’s run to the 2026 World Cup final.
Neymar closed his message by mentioning both their rivalry and partnership.
“Thank you for making me love football even more,” he wrote. “It was an honor to have played against you, and even more so to make history alongside you.”
Messi’s farewell against Benin brings an end to a 21-year Argentina career, while his club career with Inter Miami continues.
