The 85,000 tickets for Messi’s send-off sold out in under two hours. Those who missed out will watch one of the biggest football broadcasts South America has produced this year.
Argentina host Benin at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, with kick-off at 8pm local time. Messi, 39, will make his 208th and final appearance for the national team. The Argentine Football Association confirmed the fixture through its president, Claudio Tapia, on 15 September.
“We invited the best player in the world to play, the icon of our selection, our captain Lionel Andrés Messi, to have a deserved farewell on 6 October,” Tapia said.
‘I have nothing left to give’
Messi announced his retirement from international football on 31 August, six weeks after Argentina’s 1-0 loss to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final in East Rutherford.
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“I’ve given it my all, I have nothing left to give, and besides, there are some really great young players coming through behind me,” Messi said at the time.
He leaves as Argentina’s most-capped player and all-time top scorer. His World Cup record is almost without peer: second only to Miroslav Klose on the all-time goal list, and the record-holder for assists.
The tributes landed in August, not Tuesday
Social media reaction to Messi’s retirement note came quickly and from a wide circle, collected by the Buenos Aires Herald. Teammates still in the Argentina squad led the way.
“Nothing but thankful to you, you’re the greatest ever, thank you for making us so happy,” Rodrigo de Paul posted. “You can’t imagine how many smiles you brought to our faces, you’re eternal.”
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Ángel Di María’s note weighed heavier on nationality than on football.
“We will be grateful to you for the rest of our lives for being Argentine and for taking Argentina to the top of the world,” Di María wrote. “Thank you for choosing to be Argentine when you easily could have chosen otherwise.”
Enzo Fernández and Leandro Paredes added messages of their own, as did the AFA national-team account. Outside the dressing room, FIFA president Gianni Infantino praised what he called Messi’s “extraordinary international career which has inspired millions and redefined the beautiful game.” Argentine president Javier Milei kept it to four words: “Thank you, impossible man.”
Scaloni: ‘Five Monumentals would be full’
Head coach Lionel Scaloni, who guided Messi to the World Cup in Qatar and to the 2021 and 2024 Copa América titles, summed up the demand for a seat on Tuesday.
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“If there were five Monumentals they would be full,” Scaloni said.
The Monumental is Messi’s most prolific Argentine ground, with a win-heavy and unbeaten record there across his career.
Messi sat out Argentina’s warm-up wins over Bolivia on 30 September and Burkina Faso on 3 October to be fresh for Benin. His club career continues at Inter Miami.
Kick-off against Benin is 8pm local time at the Estadio Monumental on Tuesday.
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