Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina will not be in Buenos Aires for Lionel Messi‘s farewell with Argentina, after AS Roma confirmed on Tuesday that the pair won’t be allowed to travel for the October 6 match against Benin at the Estadio Monumental.
Both players had received a personal invitation from Messi to be part of the send-off, but the Giallorossi ultimately decided to keep them in Italy during the international break.
In an official statement, the club explained that the decision was made “for sporting and logistical reasons, taking into account the length of the intercontinental journey and the proximity of the Club’s upcoming competitive fixtures“. Fabrizio Romano added that Roma have no intention of approving a long international trip, as they want both Dybala and Molina back in team training next week.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side returns to Serie A action against Como on October 11, and the club had been reluctant for days to have the two Argentines take two intercontinental flights in such a short span, according to Corriere dello Sport. Roma were particularly wary of the fatigue a round trip to Buenos Aires could cause just days before a league fixture.
Neither player was set to take the field against Benin anyway: Dybala was left out of Lionel Scaloni’s squad for this window, while Molina is still serving a seven-match international ban imposed after the incidents that followed the 2026 World Cup final against Spain.
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Their presence would have been purely symbolic, an emotional reunion with the captain they lifted the 2022 World Cup alongside in Qatar, but Roma chose not to make an exception for either player at a key stretch of the season.
Roma’s full statement on Dybala and Molina
“AS Roma announces that Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina will not attend the event being held in Argentina for the match between Argentina and Benin on 6 October.
The Club acknowledges the significance of the occasion for both players, who share a close bond with Lionel Messi and were part of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning team alongside him.
The decision has been made for sporting and logistical reasons, taking into account the length of the intercontinental journey and the proximity of the Club’s upcoming competitive fixtures.
AS Roma has the utmost respect for Lionel Messi and his extraordinary career and wishes him and the Argentine Football Association a very special evening.”
