Lionel Messi announced his retirement from the Argentina national team on social media rather than on the field, but the Argentine Football Association (AFA) is planning a special on-field tribute to his two-decade international career.
Play will pause in the 10th minute of every domestic match in Argentina this weekend, followed by a minute of applause. The decision was made to honor Messi after his announcement that he was retiring from the Argentina national team.
Messi wore the No. 10 shirt for Argentina, which is why play will stop in the 10th minute. The tribute will apply across all men’s and women’s domestic competitions. AFA announced the news in a statement last Wednesday.
The tribute to Messi doesn’t end with applause alone. At stadiums with giant screens, a special video about Messi will be shown before kickoff. The video was posted on AFA’s social media after Messi announced his retirement from international football.
Messi announced his retirement from international football last Monday, posting photos of three handwritten pages in Spanish on Instagram. In the post, he confirmed that the 2026 World Cup final against Spain was his last match for Argentina. The legend closed his national-team chapter at age 39.
Messi wrote: “I gave everything I had; there’s nothing left to give.” The Argentine captain said the decision had been painful and still hurts, but that he made it because he felt the time had come.
Messi made his senior Argentina debut in 2005. He went on to score 125 goals for the national team, the most in the country’s history, and played a record six World Cups. After a long wait, he led Argentina to the title at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar — the country’s first World Cup in 36 years and third in its history.
Messi also holds multiple World Cup records, including the most matches played in tournament history, with 34, and the most wins, with 23.
Messi’s final chapter with Argentina is therefore more than a retirement story — it is the close of a dazzling international career spanning more than two decades. AFA will honor that career with a minute of applause on football pitches across the country this weekend.