Lionel Messi is apparently not allowed to leave Argentina quietly. The 39-year-old superstar has been named in Argentina’s squad for a friendly against Benin on October 6 at Buenos Aires’ Estadio Monumental, in what the Argentine Football Association has confirmed is intended to be his farewell appearance for the national team. After more than two decades of goals, trophies, tears and enough football history to fill several encyclopaedias, Argentina now appears determined to give its captain one final night under the famous blue-and-white lights.
Argentina Retires Messi, Then Calls Him Back for One More Night
Messi announced his international retirement on August 31 following Argentina’s 2026 World Cup final defeat by Spain. Yet retirement in football, it seems, sometimes comes with an unusually generous extension clause. AFA president Claudio Tapia said the federation had invited Messi to have the farewell he deserves on October 6, with the Benin friendly at the Monumental becoming the centrepiece of the celebration.
The occasion is expected to be more ceremony than ordinary friendly, with members of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad and their families invited to join the celebration. Messi’s international numbers already resemble a video-game setting: 207 appearances and 125 goals for Argentina since making his senior debut in 2005. If this really is the final chapter, even the match programme may need extra pages just to list what the man has already done.
Benin Receives the Honour — and the Headache
Benin will provide the opposition on October 6, becoming the team standing between Messi and his final international curtain call. Argentina’s wider home schedule also includes Bolivia on September 30 and Burkina Faso on October 3, but Messi is expected to participate specifically in the farewell fixture against Benin.
For Benin, this is therefore not merely another friendly on the calendar. The Cheetahs have suddenly been handed a starring role in one of football’s biggest farewell occasions, while Argentina gets the opportunity to turn a routine international window into a national celebration. Somewhere, a match organiser is probably checking the microphone, the fireworks and the emergency supply of tissues — just in case. The Monumental is expected to provide the stage for Messi’s final appearance in Argentina colours.
The Messi era with Argentina is therefore heading towards its intended farewell on October 6, with the Monumental preparing for an emotional final appearance from the country’s record scorer and most-capped player. Whether football can genuinely produce a quiet goodbye for Messi is another matter entirely; OGM News FC will be watching as Argentina prepares for what its own football authorities have described as the farewell he deserves.
