October 8, 2026
On Wednesday evening, Argentine star Lionel Messi (39 years old) sent a touching tribute to the late football legend Diego Maradona, in a farewell message to the Argentine national team, one day after he played his last international match, which put an end to his career with “Tango,” which lasted 21 years.
Messi reviewed his international career through a post on the Instagram platform, in which he praised his family and recalled Maradona, who died about six years ago. “I don’t want to forget Diego, who led our country to where it deserves, and who, as I said before, helped us every step of the way, whether he was here with us or from heaven,” Messi wrote. The two legends previously worked together at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, when Maradona coached the young Messi at the time. It is noteworthy that Maradona led Argentina to win the World Cup in 1986 in Mexico, while Messi followed in his footsteps and led the national team to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while the team lost the final of the tournament last July to Spain with a clean goal in the United States.
Regarding the decision to retire, Messi said: “Yesterday was my last match, and I really miss wearing the blue and white shirt. I know that I made the right decision. It was an amazing journey, full of joy but there were also some sad moments. But I am sure that every step in it was worth the effort.”
The post received millions of interactions and likes, the most prominent of which was a message of appreciation from his historical rival, the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (41 years old), whose international fate with his country’s national team remains ambiguous. Ronaldo wrote: “Leo, you defended your country for many years and wrote a story that will always be remembered. You have all my respect for what you achieved with the Argentine national team.”
Messi concluded his international career with his final participation last Tuesday in his friendly match against Benin at the “Monumental” Stadium in Buenos Aires, which saw him score a goal and assist for two other goals in a match that ended with Argentina’s 3-0 victory.
