Lionel Messi's Argentina farewell was described by the forward as "the saddest day of my career". The Monumental was silent for his last appearance, and Enzo Fernández was among the teammates crying beside him. The reaction has stretched well beyond the stadium, with Diego Simeone and Benin staff adding very different voices to the night.
Simeone's tribute to Messi
Diego Simeone called Messi "the best player in history" and said, "We Argentines are grateful to have had the best player in history. Messi, given his statistics, is unbeatable. I want to thank him for everything he has taught us."
That praise fits the scale of what Messi has still been doing. He has 8 goals in his last 5 matches, 8 goals and 4 assists in the 2026 World Cup, and an 8.77 rating across the tournament. Argentina are also 3 from 3 in Group J, with 9 points, 8 goals scored and just 1 conceded.
Benin's complaint after the match
Benin's staff took a very different view of how the night ended. Tunde Adelakun said, "What struck me was the clear and categorical refusal of the Argentine team to have any contact with mine after the match. The handshakes at the end of the match were brisk and impersonal. Any attempt by our players to approach the man they had come to celebrate was repelled in a very hostile manner by the security agents present."
Gernot Rohr was just as critical. He said, "The only black mark is that the Argentines gave us nothing. Not a photo of Messi, not a shirt. They did not even let us enter the corridor, not even into the dressing room, security refused everyone."
The farewell has become more than an ending for Messi. It has become a night of tears, praise and grievance, and the noise around it is likely to stay with Argentina's next outing as much as the silence at the Monumental.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
