Argentina: Lionel Messi will leave with 4 impressive records

The records that will accompany La Pulga into retirement

World Today at 13:39

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Argentina: Lionel Messi will leave with 4 impressive records

06.10.26 19:00 Friendly International

Argentina

Benin

A page in the history of Argentine football will be turned in Buenos Aires in a few hours. Lionel Messi will play his final match in Argentina's colors.

Tonight, Lionel Messi will play the final match of his career with his national team against Benin. The former FC Barcelona player will earn his 208th cap and hopes to add to his goal tally with La Albiceleste (125) one last time. It will also be time to think about the post-Messi era, even though the legendary No. 10 will leave an indelible mark.

TyC Sports, for its part, points out that Lionel Messi will leave behind four national-team records that will be almost impossible to break in the coming years, unless a new Messi emerges in the meantime. With 125 goals scored (a tally that is still growing), the Argentine is likely to remain Argentina's top scorer for quite some time. His nearest active pursuer is Lautaro Martinez, who has “only” 42.

🚨 𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗦 𝗗𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜 𝗔̀ 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗟𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦 𝗛𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗖 𝗟'𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗘 ! 🥹🐐 "Le moment est arrivé. Je pars en paix, j’ai tout donné. Ce maillot était mon rêve, ma fierté et ma vie pendant des années. Merci de m’avoir tant aimé, merci pour votre soutien. Je vous porterai toujours avec moi." 🇦🇷 (Via @FabrizioRomano)
— Instant Foot ⚽️ (@lnstantFoot) October 6, 2026

With 207 caps, soon to be 208, Messi is also the player with the most international appearances. His nearest pursuers are Javier Mascherano (147) and Angel Di Maria (145), but both have retired from international football. Messi has also made the most appearances (34) and scored the most goals (21) for Argentina at the World Cup (34). Finally, Messi shares with Luis Suarez the record for the most goals scored in South American World Cup qualifiers. The two players have 31 goals each, while their pursuers (Marcelo Moreno Martins (22), Hernán Crespo (19), Alexis Sánchez (20), Edinson Cavani (17)) no longer play for their national teams.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.