Lionel Messi’s real thoughts about his farewell game for Argentina come out, along with a claim that it’s just to make money.
Lionel Messi was a bit hesitant about having a final farewell match with Argentina because he worried the country’s football association (AFA) might just be using it to make money off his legacy.
Messi will play his 208th and last senior game for Argentina in Buenos Aires early Wednesday morning (UK time), marking the end of an incredible international career for one of football’s greatest players.
Benin kindly agreed to be Argentina’s opponent for this special occasion, but both Messi and Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, have shared some doubts about it.
Messi had announced his retirement from international football back in August after Argentina lost to Spain in the World Cup final. He had led Argentina to World Cup glory four years before that. Turning 39 during the tournament, Messi said it was a tough choice to retire but he felt he had nothing more to give.
Still, the AFA wanted him to play a little longer. Messi, Argentina’s former captain, reportedly wasn’t sure about the real reasons behind this farewell match against a team ranked 93rd in the world.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, “Messi wasn’t excited about the tribute match because he thought the AFA was mostly trying to make money from his name.” In the end, he agreed, but the match has caused some controversy.
During this long break, the AFA decided to arrange three home friendlies, inviting Bolivia, Burkina Faso, and Benin. Benin agreed to play for free just to be part of this historic moment.
It’s said that Benin’s usual fee is high, so the AFA hired a Colombian agency to find friendly teams willing to play without payment.
When Messi finishes, he will be one of only four players to have played over 200 games for their country. He might be passed soon by Luka Modric, which would put Messi third on the all-time international appearances list behind Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neither Modric nor Ronaldo has won a World Cup, though, while Messi has two Copa America titles compared to Ronaldo’s one European Championship with Portugal.
Messi will retire with 61 more caps than the next most-capped Argentine, Javier Mascherano, and has scored 125 goals – 69 more than Argentina’s second-highest scorer, Gabriel Batistuta.
When he announced his retirement, Messi said, “I swear I always gave my best – not just in recent years when we won so much, but before that too. I always fought hard and gave everything for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you proud to be Argentine through football.”