Messi bids farewell to national team legend Messi

Kathmandu. Argentine football star Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football after a friendly match against Benin on Wednesday. The match at the Estadio Más Monumental in Buenos Aires was the last match of Messi’s international career.

In this morning’s match, Messi scored one goal and two assists to give Argentina a comfortable 3-0 win over Benin. This was Messi’s 208th international match for Argentina. With this victory, he was also given an emotional farewell. The 39-year-old Messi played the last match of his 20-year-long international career in front of more than 85,000 spectators at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires this morning.

Messi, who has played the most matches for Argentina, has scored 125 goals in 207 matches for the national team. He has also assisted on 68 goals. In the 10th minute of the game, he had an emotional moment on the field after a minute’s applause in honor of his famous number 10 jersey. Members of the team that won the 2022 World Cup for Argentina and their families were also present to watch the match.

Messi won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, one of the highest-achieving players in the history of Argentine football. He also won the Copa America in 2021 and 2024 and the FIFA World Cup and Finalissima in 2022.

Messi announced his retirement from international football on August 31 after Argentina’s 2026 World Cup final defeat to Spain.

Argentina is ranked second in the FIFA World Rankings, while Benin is ranked 89th. Benin is coached by Gernot Rohr, who led Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup. Messi’s farewell match is seen by Argentina fans as a celebration of his more than two-decade-long international career.