*Major Trophies For Country:
*Copa América 2021
*FIFA World Cup 2022
*Copa América 2024
*CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions (Finalissima) 2022
*Olympic Gold Medal 2008 (beating Nigeria 1-0)
The world may have seen the last of Lionel Messi in an Argentina shirt.
After the farewell 3-0 defeat of Squirrels of Republique du Benin in the early hours of today (Nigeria time), Wednesday, 7 October, at Argentina’s iconic Estadio Monumental, Benin players mobbed him for selfies, a commonplace sight at nearly every match Messi is involved in. Fans serenaded him, as they had done all night.
Though this was far from the flashbulb send-off fans wanted, but Messi left his mark nonetheless with a pair of lovely assists and a goal of his own against a grossly outmatched Benin side.
The match was a nice gesture but in the end, very few will remember Argentina’s win – they’ll pick from the laundry list of meaningful highlights Messi has created for his national team over the last two decades, including restoring his country’s pride by winning the World Cup, winning back-to-back Copa America and others.
It was the day that no Argentinian ever wanted to come… but come it did.
Messi has officially retired from the Argentina national team.
Even before the match, it was a festival.
Singers got the party started hours before kickoff, then it continued once the final whistle blew.
Once the show was done, Messi took the microphone for himself in order to say goodbye to the fans who made the trip to El Monumental.
Messi admitted that the first thought that came into his mind was his father, who sadly passed away in August.
His father’s death was a part of the reason Messi decided to retire from the national team at this point in time.
He said: “I have nothing left but to be grateful, it was a huge honor to wear this jersey for more than 20 years. I never stopped fighting, giving my all. I promise you I would love to come here for the rest of my life, because playing for the Argentina national team is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you. I feel that it’s the right time [to retire]. We were close to completing the dream of being World champions again. We gave everything.”
Messi then made sure to call out his teammates, both present and past. The group he helped cultivate will continue without him, and Messi will be cheering them on like every other fan.
The other two members of the legendary MSN in his multiple title-winning Barcelona days – Suarez and Neymar – also graced the event, among numerous football heroes.
“Today I say goodbye to all of you. I’m going to miss defending the colors of the national team, but I will always be supporting these kids and all of the ones that come after. Always united.
“It was left clear that when we are together, we are stronger than everyone else. To achieve important things you must form united groups. In the tough times is when those groups show up. We had an extraordinary group and that’s why we achieved everything we did,” he said.
Messi then left one final message for everyone: “I’m grateful to God for being Argentinian, proud of being Argentinian. Thank you all. I love you.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: Messi touches the national team crest during his final match for Argentina.
