Lionel Messi bids Argentina farewell while extending MLS chapter with Inter Miami

Lionel Messi has closed the book on his international career with Argentina, playing his final match for the national team on Tuesday in Buenos Aires in a friendly against Benin. The 39-year-old leaves the international stage after 21 years, having scored 125 goals and lifted two Copa América titles and a World Cup trophy, while continuing his club career in MLS with Inter Miami.

A farewell night turns into a national tribute

Argentina’s soccer federation turned the occasion into a carefully staged farewell dubbed “the last tango,” elevating a routine friendly into a countrywide event. More than 85,000 tickets for the capital’s largest stadium sold out in just over an hour, later commanding prices above $2,500 on resale platforms. Former players from Argentina’s World Cup-winning sides of 1978, 1986 and 2022, along with their families, took part in the ceremony, underscoring the sense of an era ending.

Messi walked onto the pitch with his three sons amid fireworks, greeted by deafening chants of his name and fans bowing toward him in the stands. A massive replica of his iconic No. 10 Argentina shirt was unfurled across the field with a simple message of thanks. The scene capped a long, intense relationship between the star and a fan base that has alternated between adoration and scrutiny as he rose from Rosario to global superstardom.

For years, some Argentines questioned his connection to the national team, pointing to the fact he never played club soccer in his homeland and measuring him constantly against Diego Maradona. The lack of a major trophy with Argentina through the 2000s and 2010s fed that narrative, even as he collected titles and individual awards in Europe.

That perception shifted dramatically in 2021, when Argentina captured the Copa América for the first time in 28 years, followed by the World Cup triumph in Qatar a year later. Those victories cemented Messi’s status as a national icon and sparked days of celebrations across the country. In the lead-up to his farewell, tributes have multiplied, from murals and tattoos to a feature documentary and a 196-page newspaper edition dedicated to his career, as well as a towering statue in Patagonia.

International chapter closes as Inter Miami looks ahead

Debate over when Messi would step away from the national team had swirled for years before his late August announcement that he would retire from Argentina duty after the World Cup final loss to Spain. Head coach Lionel Scaloni even delayed naming a successor to Messi’s No. 10 shirt until after this last appearance, underlining the symbolic weight of the number and the player who wore it.

Messi’s decision does not affect his club future, however. His contract with Inter Miami runs through the 2028 MLS season, ensuring that North American fans will continue to see him in league play. For the club, which has already benefited from a surge in global attention and commercial interest since his arrival, his full focus on club commitments could further raise the team’s profile on and off the field.

In Argentina, many observers doubt the country will see another figure with comparable influence in both soccer and wider culture any time soon. The emotionally charged ritual of watching him carry national hopes in every international match is over, but his performances in MLS with Inter Miami will remain a focal point for supporters following the next phase of his career.