October 6, 2026 · Estadio Monumental · Farewell match
Messi's International Farewell Speech
Leaving the Argentina team he loves
Just as he showed at the 2026 World Cup, Messi proved he is still among the very best in the world. Even so, he left behind the Argentina team he loved, handed its shirt to the generations to come, and walked away from the very top to a standing ovation. On 6 October 2026 at the Monumental in Buenos Aires, after a goal and two assists in a 3-0 farewell win over Benin, he took the microphone one last time in front of more than 80,000 people.
I can only be grateful to this shirt. For more than twenty years, and even in the hardest moments, I never gave up. I kept moving forward, gave everything I had and always wanted to be here. Not coming back here, not being part of the Argentina team anymore, is a great pain for me. If the choice were mine, I would have stayed here my whole life, because playing for Argentina is the most beautiful thing in the world.
I think I am saying that more today than ever, because I do not want this moment to end. But I feel the time has come to retire. The last World Cup wore us out because of everything we went through. We reached the final and, as always, we fought to the very end. We were so close to winning it again, and despite everything that was said about us, nothing strange happened. The match against England drained us because we left everything out there. In 2022 I dreamed a dream that was not only mine but the whole country's: to become world champions once more. And we did it. The World Cup, the Copa América, the Finalissima… I am truly grateful for every moment I shared with this national team.
But this journey was never only about the 2022 World Cup. Many team-mates fought for this shirt alongside me long before we became world champions, and what they gave for Argentina can never be underestimated. Sharing the pitch with all of them, and a big part of life beyond football, was an honour and a privilege. Every time I walked out, I had warriors next to me who were ready to give everything, and that gave me the confidence to compete with anyone. To achieve big things you need a strong group, and it is in the hardest moments that you find out what a team really is. That is one of the biggest reasons for everything we achieved. I especially want to thank this group. You helped me make the dream I had since I was a kid come true: to become a world champion.
I also want to thank the fans. I was lucky enough to play in many cities across Argentina, and everywhere I went I received enormous love. In recent years, wherever in the world we played, the stadium was always full of Argentina fans. No matter the match or the distance, so many of you travelled a long way to support us, and we know how hard that is. Wherever we went it felt like playing at home, because we could always feel your support. And that support has to continue. Hard times will come, and that is exactly when the national team needs you more than ever. We need a strong, united community, because there will always be people who want to see the national team fail. We must not give them that.
In this very stadium I lived one of the happiest days of my life. It was our first match at home after winning the World Cup. It was a beautiful moment. Today may be one of the saddest days of my life, because it is right here that I have to say goodbye. I will miss all of you so much, but I will always be by your side. I will support these players and every player still to come. Right now so many emotions are mixed up inside me. It is such a hard moment that I think I have forgotten much of what I wanted to say. The first person who comes to mind is my father. I am going to miss playing here so much. I love you all, and I am proud to be Argentinian. I leave grateful, proud and at peace. Thank you for everything.
Lionel Messi
Buenos Aires on the night Messi said goodbye
Countless Argentinians who love Messi took to the streets.
Across twenty years in the sky blue and white he played 208 times and left 126 goals and 67 assists. It began with the 2005 U-20 World Cup and Olympic gold in 2008, then the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 Finalissima, the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa América. And 2026, right down to the last step that stopped in the final, belonged to him too. From now on he cheers for Argentina from the stands, next to us.
Messi's Argentina record
20 years · 208 caps · 126 goals · 67 assists · 1 World Cup · 2 Copa América · 1 Finalissima · 1 Olympic gold
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