Expect tears in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night as Lionel Messi bids what is sure to be an emotional farewell to the Argentina national team.
The 39-year-old will be winning his 208th and final cap for La Albiceleste when they take on Benin in a friendly at Monumental Stadium, bringing the curtain down on a career that has seen him score 125 goals and provide 68 assists for his country.
From 2021 to 2024, Messi captained the side to back-to-back Copa America triumphs, World Cup glory in Qatar and the relaunched Finalissima, ending his international trophy drought in spectacular style.
All 85,018 tickets for the Benin game – dubbed 'The Last Tango' – were reported to have sold out within two hours, with fans desperate to pay their respects to their hero and Argentina's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player.
The team will wear a bespoke one-off kit for the occasion while all of the 2022 World Cup-winning squad – and their families – have been invited to join Messi for the celebrations.
“I imagine Tuesday's match will be very emotional for everyone, including Leo,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni after Saturday's 7-0 friendly demolition of Burkina Faso, in which Messi did not feature.
“It will be an unforgettable day. It will be his day, and his teammates' day, who also gave him his greatest footballing joy ... I imagine that if there were five Monumental Stadiums, they would be packed.”
Messi missed out on successive World Cup wins in the summer after Argentina lost in the final to Spain. That was quickly followed by the death of his father, Jorge, 68, following a long illness.
He announced his international retirement soon after. “I swear I always gave everything, not only in these last few years when we won everything, but before that too,” Messi said in a post on Instagram. “I love, I loved, and I will always love being part of the national team. I gave everything I had, and I don’t have anything more to give.”
It had not been all plain sailing for Messi in his country's colours. He was sent off on his Argentina debut just 47 seconds after coming off the bench in a friendly against Hungary for elbowing an opponent in the face.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner also retired from international football once before after losing the 2016 Copa America final to Chile, where he missed a penalty in the shoot-out. That had been Argentina's third final defeat in as many years.
But he was back in the fold in time for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and, three years later, Argentina's 28-year trophy drought was over as Messi's team defeated Brazil in the Copa America final.
With a post-Messi Argentina era about to begin, Scaloni made clear what his absence will mean. “The feeling of having him on the pitch is unique,” he said. “That is what I would like people to understand: what he transmits on a football field.
“To everyone, to the opponent, to the teammate, to the rival fan, to his own. I haven’t seen it in anyone else. That is what we are going to miss the most. The Argentine national team will continue to exist, but logically it won’t be the same.”
Argentina win 2022 World Cup – in pictures
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Lionel Messi holds up the trophy after Argentina defeated France on penalties in the World Cup final at Lusail Stadium in Qatar, on Sunday, December 18, 2022. AP -
Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates with teammates after beating France. AP -
France's Kylian Mbappe walks past the trophy at the end of the match. AP -
Argentina's Lionel Messi holds up the Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament. AP -
Argentina celebrate victory at Lusail Stadium. Getty -
Lionel Messi of Argentina kisses the trophy after beating France 4-2 on penalties. EPA -
Argentina celebrate victory. AP -
Kylian Mbappe of France with his Golden Boot award for finishing as the tournament's top scorer. EPA -
Argentina players celebrate after winning the World Cup final penalty shoot-out against France. Getty -
Argentina players celebrate victory. Getty -
Argentina's Lautaro Martinez and Lionel Messi celebrate after winning the World Cup. Reuters -
Argentina's Leandro Paredes celebrates scoring the winning penalty against France. Getty -
Argentina's Leandro Paredes celebrates scoring during the penalty shoot-out against France. Reuters -
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saves from Kingsley Coman of France in the penalty shoot-out. Getty -
Lionel Messi scores for Argentina in the penalty shoot-out. Getty -
Emiliano Martinez of Argentina celebrates after saving Kingsley Coman's penalty. Getty -
Kylian Mbappe completes his hat-trick from the spot to make it 3-3. Getty -
Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his, and France's, third goal. Getty -
Lionel Messi scores Argentina's third goal. Getty -
Lionel Messi celebrates scoring Argentina's third goal. Getty -
Lionel Messi scores Argentina's third goal. Reuters -
Argentina's Lionel Messi goes for a high challenge on Eduardo Camavinga of France. Getty -
Lionel Messi celebrates with teammates after scoring Argentina's third. AFP -
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is beaten by the penalty of France's Kylian Mbappe. Getty -
Argentina's Nicolas Otamendi fouls Randal Kolo Muani of France giving away a penalty. Getty -
Kylian Mbappe volleys home France's second goal. Getty -
Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring the first France goal. Getty -
Kylian Mbappe scores France's first goal from the penalty spot. Reuters -
Angel Di Maria celebrates scoring Argentina's second goal. Reuters -
Argentina's Lionel Messi sends France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way from the spot. Getty -
France's Kylian Mbappe with Lionel Messi of Argentina. Getty -
Angel Di Maria scores for Argentina in the first-half. Getty -
Argentina's Angel Di Maria celebrates after scoring with France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris on his knees. Reuters -
Argentina's Nicolas Tagliafico and Randal Kolo Muani fight for the ball. AP -
Angel Di Maria celebrates after scoring for Argentina. Getty -
Lionel Messi is mobbed by Argentina teammates after scoring. Getty -
France's Jules Kounde heads the ball. AP -
Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring for Argentina. Getty -
Argentina attacker Angel Di Maria earns a penalty after going down under the challenge of France's Ousmane Dembele. Getty -
Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a first-half penalty for Argentina. Getty -
France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saves from Argentina's Julian Alvarez. AP -
France manager Didier Deschamps, left, with his Argentina counterpart Lionel Scaloni before the game. AP -
Argentina players before the match. AP -
France players before the match. Getty
While Messi heads for the international exit, his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo is currently in the middle of an undignified fallout with his national team manager.
The arrival of Jorge Jesus, his Saudi Pro League-winning manager at Al Nassr, as Portugal coach, appeared to be the perfect appointment as Ronaldo chases his 1,000th career goal and third Uefa Nations League crown with Portugal.
But the cracks between captain and manager formed almost immediately as Ronaldo stormed out of the team's training camp ahead of last week's game against Denmark.
Reports of a rift with Jesus came after Ronaldo was an unused substitute in Portugal's 2-1 win in Norway. “In time, I will tell all the Portuguese the truth about the reasons that motivated me to leave,” the 41-year-old wrote on Instagram.
While Ronaldo's prickly and substantial ego is widely known, Jesus is no shrinking violet on that front. “I’m in charge. People have to obey my decisions, even if it makes them nauseous. I can buy them tablets for that,” said Jesus during his reign at Portuguese club Sporting.
In response to Ronaldo's apparent unhappiness at not coming off the bench against Norway, Jesus made his message clear. “It won’t be Cristiano, or any other player, who changes my ideas as a coach. Never. Neither him nor anyone else. Not even a president. Never. Zero,” he said.
Following Sunday's win over Norway in the Nations League return game at the Estadio do Dragao, Jesus said the door was still open for Ronaldo to return. “If he wants to be in the national team and he’s playing, why not? There’s no resentment, because this was a misunderstanding,” he said. “I think it’s easy to resolve.”
Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) president Pedro Proenca described the incident as a “misunderstanding” that will be “resolved internally”. “We are talking about the greatest player of all time, a player who has given more than two decades to Portuguese soccer,” Proenca said. “He will always be part of this squad if he is technically fit to play. Cristiano knows this.”
As it turned out, Portugal won all three games without Ronaldo. The player picked ahead of him, Goncalo Ramos, scored in all of them.
It will now be down to whether Ronaldo – who has scored a staggering 146 goals in 234 games for Portugal (both world-record totals) – and Jesus can repair relations before the next round of Nations League games in November.
And as Messi basks in the adulation of his country on Tuesday, talk continues back in Portugal as to whether it is time for their own talisman to pass the baton on to the country's next generation of attacking talent.
