Lionel Messi lived a dream farewell in his last official home game with the Argentine national team, which beat Venezuela 3-0 on a night that moved the star to tears amidst demonstrations of constant love from the public and the company of his family.
As soon as the Argentine delegation arrived at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, 85,000 people showed their devotion to the 38-year-old Inter Miami player, who once again played a decisive role in the Albiceleste’s victory in the penultimate match of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Tears and goals
Messi walked out onto the field with his three sons, Benjamin, Thiago and Mateo, the fruit of his relationship with Antonela Roccuzzo, who led the family entourage of almost 50 people who attended the game.
The Argentine national team’s top scorer was overcome with emotion: as soon as he stepped onto the pitch for the warm-up, he tried unsuccessfully to hold back his tears.
A little later, clinging to his children during the Argentine national anthem, he seemed to be overwhelmed by the deafening chant of thousands and thousands of Argentines, before which he chose to remain silent.
A banner paid tribute to him from the second tray in the stands: “Thank you for everything, my captain”.
Excites the Monumental
Although he is always the main protagonist of every match of the team, this time he was the center of the show, even though the striker did not stand out during most of the first half, until the opening goal.
Julián Álvarez gave away an unbeatable chance in front of goal for Messi to score the 1-0 in the 39th minute, after a recovery and filtered pass from Leandro Paredes, before which the entire Argentine team looked for him to embrace the celebration.
More chants resounded in the Buenos Aires night: “Come, come, sing with me, you’ll find a friend, we’ll go all the way around with ‘Leo’ Messi” and “Olé, olé, olé, Messi, Messi” were the chants of the crowd as they began to say goodbye to their number 10.
Messi shines with brace to guide 3-0 win
A little later, after a clear chance that he missed when he shot over the Venezuelan goalkeeper’s body in the 60th minute, immediate encouragement came from the stands with a resounding “Messi, Messi, Messi”.
The 2-0 lead for the home team came, for the umpteenth time in the twenty years of his blue and white career, thanks to a stroke of genius by the captain, when he quickly collected a free kick to set up Nicolás González, who overflowed and connected his cross with the head of Lautaro Martínez.
In the 80th minute, after another pass in front of an almost empty goal, this time from Thiago Almada, Messi scored the 3-0, the second of his personal tally, to the delight of the fans, who again chanted his name and added gestures of reverence.
Eternal ovation
Minutes before the final whistle, the crowd only chanted his name and mentioned the next challenge for coach Lionel Scaloni’s team, chanting “he who does not jump, does not go to the World Cup”.
A standing ovation, hugs from his teammates and spectacular fireworks were the perfect backdrop for Messi in one of the first closings of his unparalleled soccer career (With information from EFE).
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