Buenos Aires has given Lionel Messi many of his defining nights in Argentina colours, but the farewell came with a quieter gesture inside River Plate’s Monumental. In the stadium’s presidential office, Messi met Stefano Di Carlo and accepted an institutional tribute from the club whose ground became the principal home of his international career on Argentine soil.
River presented the forward with its special 125th-anniversary shirt, printed with his surname and the number 10. He was also handed a membership card and a commemorative plaque confirming him as an honorary member of the club.
A Monumental connection across 18 years
The distinction closes a long association between Messi and the vast stadium in Núñez, which hosted both his early Argentina landmarks and his final appearance for the national side in the country. Over more than 15 years, the Monumental witnessed his changing role with the Albiceleste: from a young forward finding his place to the figure who carried the captaincy through the closing chapter.
Messi played 28 Argentina matches at the Monumental and scored 19 times there, his highest total at any stadium in Argentina. His first goal at the ground arrived in 2008, against Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier.
There were later signature performances against Bolivia, including hat-tricks in 2021 and again in 2024, while Venezuela saw him score twice in 2025. The final home stop came on 6 October 2026, when Argentina beat Benin 3-0. Messi scored once and created the other two goals, ending his Argentina career on home territory in the same arena that had supplied so many of its major moments.
For River, the honorary membership places a formal marker on that relationship. The club’s supporters and members were represented in a farewell that reached beyond results: an acknowledgement of the player who made the Monumental one of the enduring settings of modern Argentine football.
