Neymar pays tribute to Lionel Messi ahead of Argentina farewell: ‘The world thanks you’

Neymar has paid tribute to Lionel Messi on the day the Argentina captain plays his final match for the national team. The Brazilian shared a message on Instagram addressed to his former teammate, thanking him for what he has given to soccer.

“Those who love soccer have enjoyed you over all these years… Today is your last game with the shirt of your national team, of your country, and I hope you enjoy every second and that all of today’s tributes make you happy. It’s not just Argentina that thanks you, the world thanks you for everything you did for soccer. Thank you for making me love soccer even more, it was an honor to have played against you and even more so to make history by your side. THANK YOU Leo Messi,” Neymar wrote on social media.

Messi will say goodbye to the Albiceleste on Tuesday night against Benin at the Monumental in Buenos Aires, in a friendly arranged as his farewell. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET, and the match sold out in under two hours after tickets went on sale.

Messi announced his retirement from international soccer on August 31, weeks after Argentina lost the World Cup final 1-0 to Spain. He won’t be the only one saying goodbye: defender Nicolás Otamendi, who also retired from international duty after the tournament in North America, will get his own farewell too.

Messi leaves with 207 appearances, 125 goals and 68 assists, making him Argentina’s most-capped player and its all-time leading scorer. He played in six World Cups, holding the record for appearances (34), and his 21 goals rank second all-time behind Kylian Mbappé’s 22.

He also won the 2021 and 2024 Copa América titles, the 2022 Finalissima and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and he played 39 matches at the Copa América, the most in the history of the tournament.

Neymar and Messi: A close friendship that outgrew the pitch

Neymar’s tribute on Messi’s farewell day is no surprise, given how close the two have been for more than a decade. Messi is someone special to the Brazilian, and their bond was built on years as teammates, titles won together and, as shown on the international stage, a rivalry that never got in the way of the friendship.

They first shared a dressing room at Barcelona after Neymar arrived in 2013 and stayed until he left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. Alongside Luis Suárez, they formed the “MSN” trio, which won the treble in 2014-15 (La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League). Over 451 games, the trio scored 363 goals and won seven trophies, forming one of the deadliest attacking trios in soccer history.

After four years at different clubs, the pair reunited at PSG in 2021, when Messi joined Neymar and Kylian Mbappé in Paris. Together they won Ligue 1 twice and the Trophée des Champions in 2022, although the Champions League they were brought in to win never came, and both left the club in 2023.

Despite their great friendship off the pitch, on the international stage they were rivals, facing each other in one of South America’s most heated fixtures, Argentina vs. Brazil.

Messi and Neymar faced each other five times with their national teams, with the Argentine winning three to the Brazilian’s two. Most of those meetings were friendlies or World Cup qualifiers, but the most important was the 2021 Copa América final at the Maracanã Stadium, which Argentina won 1-0, giving Messi his first senior title. After the final whistle in Rio, Neymar embraced Messi on the pitch in a moment that went viral, and the two were later seen chatting in the tunnel.

The gesture showed that, despite the rivalry, Neymar was happy to see his friend win his first title with Argentina. Five years later, that bond is still on display, as the Brazilian thanks Messi on the day he plays his last game in an Argentina shirt.