The Argentine legend walked into a packed Estadio Monumental for the final Argentina match of his career and saw a giant version of his number 10 shirt spread across the pitch. The streets were flooded, which made it impossible for the Argentina team bus to arrive in time, which led to a delayed start to the game. Thousands stood, sang, cheered for Messi in the stands. Play stopped in the 10th minute paying a tribute to his jersey number so an entire stadium could applaud him.
At 39, Lionel Messi still had one final performance to give. A goal, two assists and a 3-0 victory over Benin. Then came the hugs, the applause and a drone show lighting up the Buenos Aires sky in his honour.
It was a farewell the greatest footballer of his generation deserved. Perhaps more importantly, it was a farewell that once seemed impossible.
For years, Messi’s Argentina career was defined by what he had not achieved. By the end, there was nothing left for him to achieve.
Carrying the weight of Maradona
Messi entered international football with enormous expectations. As his brilliance grew at Barcelona, so did the demand back home.
Argentina had already seen Diego Maradona lead them to the World Cup. Messi was expected to become the second Maradona. Anything less was treated as failure, especially given the talent Messi showcased.
At the 2014 World Cup, he scored four goals and helped Argentina reach their first final in 24 years. He created chances and produced moments when Argentina needed them. But Germany won the final in extra time.
Chile then beat Argentina on penalties in the 2015 Copa America final. A year later, it happened again.
Messi missed his penalty in the 2016 shootout. Broken by another defeat, he emotionally announced that his international career was over.
But he did not truly walk away. He was criticised for being too quiet. Some questioned whether he loved the national shirt as much as the Blaugrana one. At the lowest points, images of his shirt being burned showed how ugly that relationship could become.
Still, Messi decided to carry on. He came back from retirement. And that decision changed everything.
The night the burden finally lifted
For five more years, Messi continued chasing the trophy that seemed determined to elude him. Then came the 2021 Copa America, with the likes of Emiliano Martinez, Rodrigo De Paul and a new breed of talents entering the scene, shining alongside the experienced Angel Di Maria, Nicolas Otamendi and the others, Messi drove Argentina to glory.
He scored four goals and provided five assists. He finished as joint top scorer and was named the tournament’s best player.
The wait was over. The player who had lost the World Cup final and two Copa America finals was finally a senior international champion.
The winning had not stopped. The Finalissima followed against Italy in 2022. Messi’s Argentina went on to win the Copa America 2024 as well. And then came Qatar.
When everything was about to collapse
The 2022 World Cup showed perhaps better than anything why Messi will be almost impossible to replace. Argentina began by losing to Saudi Arabia. Suddenly, their World Cup was in danger.
Against Mexico, the game remained goalless and tense. Then Messi found space outside the box. One strike from distance — a ‘Messi moment’, as Peter Drury called it in commentary — changed everything.
Against the Netherlands, he somehow found a passing lane through a crowded defence for Nahuel Molina.
Against Croatia, Josko Gvardiol followed him towards the touchline. Messi twisted past one of the tournament’s best defenders and created for Julian Alvarez.
Someone can be a great dribbler. Someone else can become an elite goalscorer. Another player may master free kicks. There will be midfielders who can carry the ball and play passes others cannot see. But only Messi did all of it consistently for so many years.
He finished Qatar with seven goals and three assists. He scored twice against France in the final and finally lifted the World Cup. The Maradona question had finally disappeared.
Still at the top
His longevity made the story even harder to repeat. When Messi emerged, Kaká, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were among football’s biggest stars.
He stayed long enough to share the stage with Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Vinicius Junior and a generation that grew up watching him. Even at 39, Messi remained decisive. In the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the top scorers were Kylian Mbappe (10), Lionel Messi (8), and Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland (7 each). Mbappe is 27 years old, Haaland is 26, and Bellingham is just 23. It was as if the 39 year old Messi was an ‘imposter’ making it into the list of top goalscorers.
The veteran was still at the top as he finally played his last ever game for Argentina.
The match against Benin became more than a goodbye. Messi created Argentina’s opener for another departing veteran, Nicolas Otamendi. He then assisted Nico Paz before scoring from the penalty spot himself. Even on the night Argentina came to thank him, Messi gave them something in return. He signed off with 126 goals and 70 assists in 208 games.
The farewell he earned
The football ended. The same country where his commitment had once been questioned now stood to celebrate him. The player whose shirt had once been burned entered his final international match beneath a giant tifo of that same famous shirt.
There is something almost poetic about that journey. Messi could have allowed 2016 to become his ending. Instead, he returned.
He carried the comparisons, the defeats and the criticism. He changed from the quiet genius into a captain willing to fight openly for his teammates. He won the Copa America. Then the World Cup.
And when it was finally time to leave, he was still scoring and creating. Messi had turned it all around. And this time, when he walked away, the nation was not asking what he had failed to achieve. Instead, the world was thanking him for everything he had.
