Lionel Messi is in Argentina in advance of his moving goodbye, as the 39-year-old is getting ready to make his last appearance for Argentina next week in Buenos Aires.
Messi arrived in his hometown of Rosario on Friday after he had come from Miami with his family on a private jet. He is expected to feature against Benin on Tuesday in what will be his last outing for the country he led to World Cup glory in 2022.
The Argentine Football Association explained that the friendly was organised “for the Argentinean to bid farewell to his homeland, after having enjoyed an extraordinary international career”.
A group of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victorious team is likely to be included in the celebrations. But Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina will not be there as their club, Roma, refused to let them depart for the event.
Messi made his announcement of retirement from international football on 31 August, ending his 21-year Argentina international career. He is the last of the many World Cup finals in which he has competed, and he is the national team’s highest scorer with 125 goals.
Argentina’s biggest international success was when they finished in the final of Qatar-2022 against France in 2022. Messi himself has had his own share of bad luck in the 2014 final against Germany, and Argentina have been beaten by Spain this year as well.
The legend forward isn’t taking part in Argentina’s other matches in the international break. The team defeated Bolivia 4-0 on Wednesday and will take on Burkina Faso in a friendly on Saturday.
However, on 30 September, Burkina Faso’s charter flight from Morocco was cancelled and the match has yet to be secured. Tuesday’s clash with Benin is Messi’s day for the moment and Argentine fans will have an opportunity to honor the career of one of the nation’s greatest football successes.
