Messi calls Argentina farewell saddest day of his career

Lionel Messi called his retirement from international football the “saddest day of my career” after his final Argentina appearance ended in a 3-0 win over Benin on Tuesday. He scored once and provided two assists at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires before addressing the crowd.

The 39-year-old thanked fans and teammates as he reflected on 21 years with Argentina. More than 80,000 spectators were in the stadium for his farewell.

A painful goodbye

“It was a huge source of pride for me to defend this jersey for more than 20 years,” Messi told the crowd. He said he had kept fighting and remained with the national team even through its most difficult moments.

“Not coming anymore is going to be deeply painful. I swear I’d like to play for the rest of my life, because playing for the Argentina national team is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you,” he said.

Messi described his return to the Monumental, where Argentina played their first game after winning the 2022 World Cup, as bittersweet. He told supporters that although he was saying goodbye to the national team, he would now join them in backing the players who follow.

World Cup campaign took its toll

Despite the sadness, Messi said he had no regrets about the timing of his departure. Argentina reached the final of this year’s World Cup but lost to Spain after beating England 2-1 in the semi-final.

“Even though I want to be here all my life, I feel that this is the moment. The last World Cup was too much, everything I had to live through,” he said. Messi said the England match had taken a heavy physical and emotional toll on the team.

His father and agent, Jorge, also died in August. Messi said Argentina had come close to their goal of becoming world champions again, but that the demands of the tournament had weighed on him.

Scaloni looks to life without Messi

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, who led the team to the 2022 World Cup title, said Messi was “unique” and praised the contribution he had made. Scaloni, who cried during the national anthem, said he owed Messi “a debt of eternal gratitude”.

With Messi’s international career over, Scaloni said the task was to build a team in which every player contributes. “The only way to make up for his leaving is to have a great team which means everyone brings something to contribute to the building of it,” he said.