Even in victory, there were only tears. Lionel Messi scored one goal and provided two assists as Argentina cruised to a 3-0 win over Benin on Tuesday night, but the result was merely a footnote to the real story unfolding. After 21 years of brilliance, heartbreak and ultimate redemption, La Pulga was saying goodbye, and the weight of that finality hung heavy over Buenos Aires.

“Now I’m here on the saddest day of my career, which is the day I have to say goodbye to the national team, goodbye to all of you,” Messi told 85,000 fans who had packed the stadium not to celebrate a routine friendly victory, but to witness history’s final act.

The 39-year-old maestro took to the field after the match to express gratitude to fans and teammates, his voice cracking with emotion as he reflected on more than two decades wearing the sky blue and white stripes that have defined his career as much as any Barcelona or Inter Miami jersey ever could.

“It was a huge source of pride for me to defend this jersey for more than 20 years,” Messi said, the Monumental hanging on every word. “Even in the worst moments we went through and that I had, I never stopped fighting, never stopped being here.”

Still wanted to play forever

The cruel irony of Messi’s farewell is that he’s leaving whilst still capable of magic. His goal and two assists against Benin weren’t charity contributions from a fading legend, they were vintage Messi, the kind of performance that makes his retirement feel premature despite his age and everything he’s already achieved.

“Not coming anymore is going to be deeply painful,” he admitted, the emotion raw and unfiltered. “I swear I’d like to play for the rest of my life, because playing for the Argentina national team is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you.”

For a player who has won everything there is to win in club football, who has claimed eight Ballons d’Or and broken every conceivable individual record, that statement carries profound weight. The Argentina jersey wasn’t just another shirt, it was the one that mattered most.

Bittersweet return to the Monumental

The venue for Messi’s farewell carried its own significance. The Monumental was where Argentina played their first game after winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a moment of unbridled celebration when Messi finally achieved the one trophy that had eluded him for so long.

Now, returning to the same stadium for what he called “the saddest day of my career,” the contrast couldn’t have been starker. From the pinnacle of footballing achievement to the painful finality of goodbye, all within the same four walls.

“But now I’ll be on that side, supporting all the boys, everyone who comes in. Always united,” Messi said, promising his connection to the Albiceleste won’t end just because he’s no longer pulling on the jersey.

The World Cup That Broke Him

Despite the sadness, Messi expressed no regrets about the timing of his decision. The recent World Cup, where Argentina battled through to the final only to lose to Spain, had simply taken too much out of him.

“Even though I want to be here all my life, I feel that this is the moment. The last World Cup was too much, everything I had to live through,” Messi explained, offering a glimpse into the physical and emotional toll of carrying a nation’s hopes on aging shoulders.

Argentina had come agonisingly close to repeating their 2022 triumph. The 2-1 semi-final victory over bitter rivals England had been particularly draining—a match that extracted every ounce of energy from players who had already given everything across a gruelling tournament.

“The match against England took a huge toll on us physically, and emotionally it was very big,” Messi revealed. “We arrived with just enough, we fought like we always did with this jersey.”

No strange conspiracy

Messi also addressed lingering questions about the World Cup final defeat, dismissing suggestions that anything untoward had occurred. “The reality is that nothing strange happened, as people say,” he stated firmly, putting to bed any conspiracy theories about the loss to Spain.

They simply ran out of steam. After the emotional high of defeating England and the physical demands of reaching another final, Argentina arrived at the ultimate hurdle with nothing left in the tank. They fought, they battled, they embodied everything the Albiceleste jersey represents, but it wasn’t enough.

“We were very close,” Messi said, the words carrying the weight of what might have been.

A legacy beyond trophies

As Messi spoke, it was impossible not to reflect on everything he’s given Argentine football. The 2022 World Cup triumph that ended 36 years of waiting. The Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024. The countless moments of individual brilliance that transcended mere statistics.

But more than the trophies, Messi gave Argentine football his unconditional commitment. Through the crushing defeats, Germany in 2014, Chile in 2016, Spain just two months ago, he never walked away, never stopped fighting for the jersey he loved more than any other.

“I never stopped being here,” he said, and those five words encapsulate a career defined by loyalty to a shirt that has brought him both his greatest joy and deepest pain.

The final curtain

As Messi left the Monumental pitch for the final time as an Argentina player, the tears flowed freely—not just from the man himself, but from the 85,000 witnesses to history who understood they’d never see his like again in sky blue and white.

The saddest day of his career, he called it. For Argentine football fans, it feels much the same. The greatest player their nation has ever produced, the rightful heir to Maradona, the man who finally delivered the World Cup they’d craved for so long, gone.

What remains are memories that will last forever and a legacy that no successor will ever match. Messi’s Argentina chapter is closed, but the story he wrote will echo through generations.