has given fans a first glimpse of the shirt he will wear on his last night in Argentina colours. The 39-year-old posted a short Instagram video of a one-off Adidas design ahead of the friendly against Benin on October 6 at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
“One last match….A jersey for a lifetime,” Messi wrote as he took the 2026 World Cup shirt off its hanger and put the new one in its place.
This is not the usual Albiceleste strip. The base is light blue with a single white stripe down the middle instead of the familiar run of vertical bands. Gold lettering spells MESSI and the No. 10 on the back. A large, shaded Sun of May fills most of the rear panel, with rays spreading from the number. Gold trim sits on the collar and sleeve edges. The AFA crest is also finished in gold.
Adidas built the shirt for one night. It is a wearable send-off rather than a replica of the World Cup kit Messi wore when Argentina lost the final to Spain 1-0. From the first look, every extra detail points at the same idea: this is his last Argentina jersey, not another match-day shirt.
announced his international retirement in August, weeks after that final and after the death of his father, Jorge. “I’ve given my all; I’ve nothing left to give,” he said then. The Argentine Football Association still asked him back for one home goodbye. He accepted. He will not play the earlier friendlies against Bolivia in Cordoba on September 30 or Burkina Faso at the Monumental on October 3. Only Benin. That game will be his 208th cap.
AFA president Claudio Tapia set the tone when the call-up was confirmed. “We made the decision to invite the best player in the world, the symbol of our national team, our captain, Lionel Andres Messi, so that he can have the farewell he truly deserves on October 6 here in Argentina,” Tapia said. He also invited the 2022 World Cup winners and their families. “The last tango of the best player in the world,” he called it.
Rodrigo De Paul and Giovani Lo Celso are in the Benin party as well. Angel Di Maria has already said he will be in the stands. River Plate’s ground holds about 85,000. On that Tuesday night it will be full.
leaves as Argentina’s most capped player and record scorer, with 125 international goals, 21 of them at World Cups. He won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024, and Olympic gold in 2008. The list is as complete as any player has ever taken home. The new shirt tries to hold all of that in gold thread and a sun on the back.
He will still play for Inter Miami. The Argentina chapter is the one that is closing. For two decades, the No. 10 shirt meant something bigger than a number. On October 6, he will pull on one last version of it, say goodbye in front of his own crowd, and hang that jersey up for good.
