Lionel Scaloni revealed that he personally played a role in convincing Lionel Messi to hold his farewell match with Argentina during the current FIFA window, rather than waiting for a later date.
The Albiceleste coach addressed the topic while speaking to reporters during the national team’s first week of training ahead of the upcoming friendlies against Bolivia, Burkina Faso, and Benin.
“I think a player like that deserves that. I personally did my part, I want to be at his farewell,” Scaloni said, explaining his motivation for pushing to have the send-off happen now rather than in a future window.
He went on to detail the conversations that led to Messi accepting the timing, acknowledging everything the forward was going through at the time. “We made an effort so he could be at this match, and we knew everything he was going through, and even so he showed the desire to come and say goodbye with his people. If there’s going to be a tribute, it has to be now, to feel the affection of everyone,” Scaloni added.
Scaloni closed by crediting both his own persistence and the AFA’s involvement in making the farewell happen. “We talked, I did my part to convince him that now was the time, that further down the road there was no telling what could happen, and he understood that. The AFA did its part too, and it’s something beautiful because he deserves it,” he said, with Messi set to bid farewell to the national team on October 6 against Benin at the Estadio Monumental.
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Farewell doubles as a reunion for the 2022 World Cup champions
Messi’s send-off on October 6 will also double as a farewell for Nicolás Otamendi, who was specifically added to the squad list for that match despite having already retired from the national team.
But the tribute goes beyond the two of them: AFA president Claudio Tapia confirmed that every member of Argentina‘s 2022 World Cup-winning squad was invited to attend alongside their families, regardless of whether they were called up for this window.
The full guest list includes World Cup champions such as Franco Armani, Gonzalo Montiel, Ángel Di María, Paulo Dybala, Marcos Acuña, and Guido Rodríguez, none of whom are part of the current squad.
Even Leandro Paredes, Nahuel Molina, and Thiago Almada, who are all still serving FIFA suspensions tied to the incidents following the lost final against Spain, will be present as part of the delegation, even though they won’t be able to take the field.
