After 21 years, 125 goals, and six World Cups, Lionel Messi has hung up his Argentina shirt. In a heartfelt Instagram post on Monday, Messi, 39, confirmed that July’s World Cup final loss to Spain was his last match for the Albiceleste. “I gave it my all; I have nothing left to give,” he wrote, calling his decision “painful” but admitting that “the time has come.”
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) wasted no time in unveiling a nationwide tribute. Starting Wednesday, every football match under the federation’s umbrella—across all men’s and women’s divisions, futsal, and beach soccer—will pause in the 10th minute, Messi’s iconic shirt number, for a minute-long round of applause. This mandate kicked off during the Copa Argentina clash between Velez Sarsfield and Boca Juniors, setting the tone for a week of emotion-laden fixtures. Stadiums equipped with big screens are also required to show the AFA’s tribute video before kickoff.
The Number 10 Debate: Retiring Messi’s Shirt
Messi’s retirement has reignited calls to permanently retire the national team’s No. 10 jersey—a number forever linked to both Messi and Diego Maradona. However, FIFA regulations blocked a similar move after Maradona’s farewell in 2002, and the same obstacle stands today, keeping the famous shirt in circulation.
Messi leaves with a record that cements his place among football’s immortals: Argentina’s all-time top scorer, two-time Copa America winner (2021, 2024), and, perhaps most memorably, World Cup champion in 2022—Argentina’s first in 36 years. He also became just the second player after Brazil’s Cafu to play in three World Cup finals, finishing as runner-up in 2014 and 2026, and champion in 2022.
What’s Next for Argentina?
With Messi’s era officially over, coach Lionel Scaloni is expected to announce the first Argentina squad of the post-Messi generation in the coming days, as the team prepares for its next chapter—reportedly with all upcoming matches set to be played on home soil.
For now, the applause in stadiums up and down Argentina is a fitting, spine-tingling reminder: there may never be another quite like Lionel Messi.
