Lionel Messi experienced on Tuesday one of the most moving nights of his career. After more than twenty years defending the Argentine jersey, the captain played his final match with the National Team at the Monumental and, following the 3-0 triumph over Benin, he bid farewell to more than 80,000 fans who filled the stadium with an emotionally charged speech.
Still with the emotion running high, Messi took the microphone and spoke about everything that wearing the Argentine shirt meant to him. He also remembered his family, highlighted his teammates, and left a message for the future of the national team.
“It is hard to say anything today, there are many emotions. There is nothing left but to be grateful. It was a great pride for me to defend this jersey for more than 20 years,” he began.
The captain also underscored everything he went through with his teammates over these two decades. “Even in the worst moments we had to fight, strive, give our best, always want to be there,” he noted.
And he left one of the phrases that best sums up what it means for him to have worn the Argentina shirt: “I swear I’d love to come here for life. Playing for the National Team is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you”.
Messi remembered his father at the most emotional moment
In the midst of the farewell, Messi spoke from a much more personal place and made clear who came first to his mind as he faced such a moving night.
“Obviously the first thing I think about is my dad,” he expressed.
That phrase was one of the most emotional moments of his speech and joined a message that throughout the night was threaded with memories and with everything his history with the national team meant.
“All my teammates gave everything for this jersey”
Messi also used his final words as a national team player to defend his teammates and emphasize the commitment they had shown over all these years.
“Do not doubt that all my teammates gave everything for this jersey always,” he assured.
The captain even recalled some of the most intense moments of the recent years and referred to the most recent World Cup. “We were very close in the last World Cup, and the truth is nothing bad happened; the England match was a great wear and tear for us,” he noted.
Beyond the results and the difficulties the national team faced at various moments, Messi again stressed that there was always total commitment to the Argentine shirt.
“I’m going to miss playing here a lot”
As his farewell progressed, Messi’s emotion became even more evident.
“It’s a very difficult moment for me, I’m going to miss playing here a lot,” he admitted.
He also defined himself as grateful for everything he experienced with the National Team and particularly valued the fans’ support throughout his career.
“I’m grateful for everything I got to experience. You are always here, in Copa América, in the World Cups, in every stadium,” he said to a Monumental that was completely devoted.
The place where he lived one of the happiest moments of his life
The Monumental stadium also held a special meaning for Messi. There, on that very stage, he was the protagonist of one of the most important chapters in his story with the Argentine shirt.
“In this place I lived one of the most beautiful moments of my life,” he recalled.
The moment was charged with emotion because it was precisely at the Monumental where Messi and the National Team began to construct many of the most significant memories of recent years.
But this time the reason was different.
“Today, again here, I have to live the saddest day of my career. I will miss wearing the colors of the National Team, but I will live it from that side and always united,” he said.
Messi’s message for the future of the National Team
Before bidding farewell for good, the captain also wanted to leave a message for what comes next. Far from looking only backward, he warned that the national team must stay united in the face of difficult moments that may arise.
“Hard moments will come. You have to form strong groups to come out of difficult situations,” he stated.
And he added: “I always say it because there are people who want to see the National Team do poorly.”
It was, in a sense, his final reflection as a team leader: a call to safeguard the group’s unity and to uphold the sense of belonging that, in his words, allowed them to endure the toughest moments.
“I am grateful to God for being Argentine”
The farewell ended with a line that once again placed emotion at the center of the scene.
“I am grateful to God for being Argentinian. I love you all,” Messi told the thousands of fans who bid him farewell from the stands.
Minutes earlier, he had been the protagonist on the field: he converted a penalty for one of the three goals in the victory over Benin and provided the perfect ending to a historic night. Nicolás Otamendi and Nico Paz scored the other two.
After more than two decades, hundreds of matches and a history that includes titles, defeats, frustrations and a World Cup, Messi bid farewell to the National Team at the same place where he lived some of the happiest moments of his career.
This time, with tears and in front of a full Monumental, it was his turn to say goodbye.
