Lionel Messi named in Argentina squad for farewell appearance

Lionel Messi is to make one final farewell appearance for Argentina against Benin on October 6.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, who announced his retirement from international football after Argentina’s defeat in the World Cup final, has been invited to participate in the upcoming friendly.

The match in Buenos Aires is to be turned into a celebration of his career, with all his team-mates from Argentina’s triumphant 2022 World Cup squad invited.

Messi has therefore been named in Lionel Scaloni’s squad for the upcoming international window, which also includes friendlies against Bolivia on September 30 and Burkina Faso on October 3. He, along with midfielders Giovani Lo Celso and Rodrigo De Paul, will join the squad just for the Benin match.

Argentinian Football Association president Claudio Tapia said in a video released on Instagram: “To all Argentina fans and Argentinians, I want to tell you that after a chat with the national team head coach, Lionel Scaloni, we have taken the decision to invite the best player in the world, emblem of our national team, our captain, Lionel Andres Messi, so he can have the farewell he truly deserves on October 6, here, in Argentina.”

He added the occasion would be “unforgettable” and he wanted to “invite all Argentinians to watch the last tango of the best player in the world”.

Messi is Argentina’s record goalscorer and most-capped player having scored 125 goals in 207 appearances since his debut in 2005.