Buenos Aires gave Lionel Messi a final international night beneath the lights of the Monumental, where Argentina beat Benin 3-0 and closed the curtain on a 21-year career with the Albiceleste. The 38-year-old scored from the penalty spot in the 70th minute, provided assists and received an emotional farewell from teammates, opponents and supporters.
Messi leaves Argentina with 126 goals, his last arriving in the friendly against Benin. The occasion brought tributes and tears in the capital, with the forward ending a national-team journey that began with his senior debut in 2005.
A Monumental farewell
At the final whistle, referee Fernando Véjar presented Messi with his cards. Players from both Argentina and Benin then formed a guard of honour to greet the former captain before the stadium looked skyward for a drone display.
The show traced Messi’s image above the Monumental and recreated the Argentina shirt associated with his first appearance for the national side. It was a fitting scene for a player whose career transformed from early promise into the defining era of Argentine football.
Alejandro Domínguez, president of CONMEBOL, attended the match and met Messi and his family. The South American confederation chief gave them several gifts, including a ball from the 2024 Copa América in the United States, a tournament won by Argentina.
In a message after the game, Domínguez thanked Messi for what he had brought to South American football, describing him as a legend, an example of ambition and “the greatest player of all time.” He also called the Inter Miami forward a champion in life.
The trophies behind the goodbye
Messi’s senior Argentina farewell comes after a run of major honours that changed the mood around the national team. Under Lionel Scaloni, he won the Copa América in 2021 and 2024, with the latter his second continental title, as well as the 2022 Finalissima.
The centrepiece was the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, when Messi led Argentina to its first global title since 1986. His international medal collection had begun much earlier: he won the FIFA Under-20 World Cup with Argentina in 2005 and Olympic gold with the under-23 team in Beijing in 2008.
With the Benin match complete, the player who wore Argentina’s number 10 through triumph, pressure and revival has now stepped away from the international stage in the city where his final chapter was celebrated.
