Messi arrives in Argentina for his farewell to the national team

Buenos Aires.- The captain of the Argentine national team, Lionel Messi, arrived this Friday in his hometown, Rosario, from the United States and accompanied by his family, four days before the friendly match against Benin, which will mark his farewell to the national team in front of the local crowd.

The private plane in which Messi, his wife Antonela Roccuzzo, his children Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, and his mother, Celia Cuccittini, traveled landed at 7:00 local time (10:00 GMT) at the Islas Malvinas International Airport in Rosario, located about 300 kilometers from Buenos Aires, where the captain will play his last match with the Argentine national team next Tuesday.

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The soccer player moved to his residence in the town of Funes, on the outskirts of Rosario, where he plans to stay over the weekend before joining the training camp of the team led by Lionel Scaloni.

The arrival of the Inter Miami forward took place earlier than expected. He was expected to join the national team after the match that Argentina will play this Saturday against Burkina Faso at the Monumental stadium, the second of the three friendlies scheduled for this international window.

Messi is not expected to participate in that match, but he could travel to Buenos Aires to accompany the squad, although there is no confirmation of that possibility at the moment.

On Tuesday, October 6, Argentina will face Benin also at the Monumental stadium in the match organized as Messi’s farewell from the national team in front of his home crowd.

The match is part of the series of friendlies that the Albiceleste is playing after the 2026 World Cup, in which they lost the final to Spain. Argentina defeated Bolivia 4-0 this Wednesday in Córdoba, in a match that also marked the beginning of the renewal promoted by Scaloni with a view to upcoming competitions.

Messi’s Retirement

The Argentine idol announced his retirement from the Argentine national team on August 31st. “I emptied myself. I have nothing left to give,” he wrote. The footballer explained that he had made the decision after the defeat in the World Cup final, but that he communicated it after the passing of his father, Jorge Messi.

The forward made his debut with the senior national team on August 17, 2005, in a friendly against Hungary. After more than two decades with the Albiceleste, he has accumulated 207 matches, 125 goals, and 68 assists, according to data released by the AFA, and he is the all-time top scorer for the Argentine team, with whom he was crowned world champion in Qatar 2022 and won two Copa América titles (2021 and 2024) and the 2022 Finalissima.

The match against Benin will be, according to the schedule announced by the AFA, his final appearance with the national team, on a day that will include a tribute to the captain and for which tickets sold out quickly.