Lionel Messi calls Argentina farewell the ‘saddest day’ of his career

Lionel Messi called his farewell to Argentina the ‘saddest day’ of his career after scoring in a 3-0 friendly win over Benin at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, 6 October. Speaking to supporters after his final national-team appearance, the captain said representing Argentina for more than 20 years had been a source of pride and that leaving would be painful.

His speech added a personal account to the result and farewell reported after the match. NewsJaws’ earlier report covered Messi’s final appearance and Argentina’s win over Benin; his remarks set out how he viewed the end of his international career.

What Messi said after his final Argentina match

‘It was a huge source of pride for me to defend this jersey for more than 20 years,’ Messi told the crowd, according to Agence France-Presse. He said he had kept fighting to represent Argentina through difficult periods and told supporters: ‘Not coming any more is going to be deeply painful.’ The remarks followed a career that, Reuters reported, spanned 21 years with the national team.

Messi described his return to the Monumental for the farewell as bittersweet. He said he would now support Argentina ‘on that side’, alongside the fans, and urged the team and its supporters to remain united. His words addressed the crowd at the stadium where Argentina had also played its first match after winning the 2022 World Cup, according to AFP.

How Argentina beat Benin at the Monumental

The Argentine Football Association said the first half ended goalless before Nicolás Otamendi opened the scoring. Nicolás Paz added a second goal, and Messi scored Argentina’s third late in the match. The federation described the fixture as Messi’s final Argentina appearance before the home crowd and said the Monumental was full for the occasion.

Reuters reported that Messi assisted Otamendi’s opening goal and scored from the penalty spot in the 71st minute. It put the attendance at 85,000 and said play stopped in the 10th minute for an ovation marking Messi’s No 10 shirt. Those details describe the farewell as reported by Reuters; the federation’s match account confirms the score, venue and scorers but does not provide a full statistical match sheet.

The result gave Argentina a win on the night it said goodbye to its captain at home. Messi scored the last goal, then addressed supporters after the final whistle. The AFA called the match his final appearance in the country for the national team, while Reuters and AFP reported it as the end of his Argentina career.

Messi’s Argentina record and the titles behind it

Reuters reported that the goal against Benin was Messi’s 126th for Argentina and that this was his record-extending 208th international appearance. Those totals come from the news agency’s reporting rather than a statistical table in the AFA account supplied for this match. Together with the 21-year span Reuters reported, they show the scale of the national-team career that ended in Buenos Aires.

His international honours include Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory, which ended the country’s 36-year wait for a third title, and Copa América wins in 2021 and 2024, Reuters reported. Argentina also reached the World Cup finals in 2014 and 2026. The latest final, a defeat by Spain roughly two and a half months before the Benin match, was part of the strain Messi cited in explaining why he was leaving.

Messi’s farewell leaves Argentina to play future internationals without a player who had been part of its national side for more than two decades. Neither the federation’s match report nor the farewell remarks reported by AFP set out a succession plan. The confirmed development is his departure from Argentina after the Benin win, alongside his stated intention to support the team from among its fans.