Lionel Messi has posted a personal farewell to the Argentina national team on his social media accounts, hours before his last match for the Albiceleste against Benin. The game, scheduled for 1:00 a.m. and broadcast on Movistar, will close a senior international career that the post puts at 207 appearances for his country.
In the farewell video, Messi described the moment as one he had hoped would never come. “The day we never would have wanted to arrive has arrived. The saddest day of our lives,” he said. He went on to explain his state of mind at the end of his time with the national team: “I leave in peace. I gave everything. This jersey was my dream, my pride, and my life. Thank you for loving me so much, I’m going to miss you.”
The goodbye was echoed in a separate message published as an Instagram story, where Messi wrote “Thank you Argentina” alongside a photograph of himself kissing the special jersey he will wear in his final international fixture.
On the pitch, Messi is set to start against Benin, joining the vast majority of the players who were part of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad. The farewell will take place in a packed Mas Monumental stadium, the setting for his last appearance in the Albiceleste shirt.