[REVISION HISTORY]

Lionel Messi retirement and Argentina captaincy transition

126 recorded revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-10-10 14:02 UTC → 2026-10-13 18:34 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Following Lionel Messi’s official retirement from the Argentine national team on 30 August 2026, the squad has begun a formal leadership transition. Head coach Lionel Scaloni has designated 28-year-old centre-back Cristian ‘Cuti’ Romero as the new captain, supported by a collective leadership structure involving Emiliano Martínez, Rodrigo De Paul, and Lautaro Martínez. On 6 October, Messi played his final match in the national team jersey during a farewell fixture against Benin at the Estadio Monumental. The event, attended by approximately 85,000 spectators, resulted in a 3-0 victory for Argentina. In his final appearance, the 39-year-old forward contributed to all three goals, including a penalty, concluding an international career that spanned 21 years. The event was marred by significant logistical and organizational failures. A drone show intended to honor Messi drew criticism after a sponsor's logo appeared before the player's images and caused temporary flight restrictions at Aeroparque, leading to commercial aircraft delays. Furthermore, the relationship between the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and River Plate has deteriorated. River Plate issued a statement holding the AFA failures and growing tensions with the production company, Marketing Sports, responsible for technical deficiencies regarding sound, lighting, and power supply, noting that artists were forced to use administrative offices as makeshift dressing rooms. visiting team. Benin head coach Gernot Rohr ~~expressed frustration over~~ reported that strict security measures ~~that~~ prevented his players from ~~exchanging~~ entering the players' tunnel to exchange jerseys or ~~taking~~ take photographs with ~~Argentine players. Amidst these tensions, AFA President Claudio Tapia faced hostility from~~ Messi. The only souvenir obtained was a signed 2018 Argentina jersey, which Messi autographed for Rohr after the ~~crowd, leading to speculation~~ coach requested assistance from Lionel Scaloni. Further accusations of disrespect emerged from Benin’s assistant coach, Tunde Adelakun. Writing for The African Football Club, Adelakun claimed Argentine players showed little interest in acknowledging opponents during handshakes. He also alleged that during Messi’s lap of honor, the ~~national team may move future home matches from~~ player appeared to make a ‘deliberate detour’ to avoid the ~~Monumental~~ group of Benin players who had gathered to applaud him. Organizational issues also persisted, including a controversial drone show and a deteriorating relationship between the ~~Estadio Diego Armando Maradona in La Plata.~~ Argentine Football Association (AFA) and River Plate regarding technical deficiencies at the stadium.

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