Lionel Messi fights back tears as Argentina pays incredible tribute to soccer hero in his final game for his country

It was a grand occasion befitting maybe the greatest No. 10 to don the blue and white of Argentina. It was an emotional moment the other man to challenge that claim, Diego Maradona, never received.

The end of Lionel Messi’s career for La Albiceleste arrived before a sellout crowd at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on a night where everything was done to honor the man who led Argentina to three World Cup Finals – including this past summer’s – and ended a 36-year drought on the globe’s biggest stage.

Long before the match began, tears rolled down the face of the beautiful game’s Lilliputian giant, on the bus and on the pitch before the national anthem as his three sons joined him.

A large tifo of an Argentina shirt with the words ‘Gracias 10′ in gold was displayed on the pitch. It was a color scheme reflected on the shirts of the Argentina players, with gold names and numbers. Instead of Adidas’ iconic three stripe logo, Messi’s stylized ‘M’ logo replaced it.

At the tenth minute, the game against Benin was stopped for a moment of applause while fireworks were shot off into the night sky. Opposition players joined in the occasion, clapping along with over 80,000 Argentines.

No one else in white and blue dared to try and steal this moment for themselves. Perhaps in a country where machismo is so central to its culture, that in and of itself is a testament to what Messi signifies.

This is also the final match of Nicolas Otamendi, one of the key contributors to that 2022 World Cup run. But even he took a step back to Messi’s majesty.

Other players paid tribute in their own ways. Goalkeeper Enzo ‘Dibu’ Martinez, known for his eccentric hair styles, carved Messi’s ‘M’ logo into the back of his head for the occasion.

For all his magical moments, the revelers at the Monumental hoped to see just one more, one last moment to deservedly sing Messi’s name to the heavens.

The first half produced three near-chances within a span of just a few minutes time. A teasing pass from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo de Paul met Messi’s sliding boot, but just trickled left of the keeper’s right post. A trademark Messi free kick was tipped wide just two minutes later.

In the 32nd minute, he missed another beautiful chance generated with a pass from Lautaro Martinez that just snuck wide.

At halftime, the crowd was left perhaps disappointed by the lack of a goal, yet eager to see what lay in store for the final 45 minutes of Messi’s national team career. 

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