Lionel Messi farewell: Argentina superstar still one of the best as he preps for final national team match — SkimNews
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- Lionel Messi will play his 208th and final Argentina appearance on Tuesday in a friendly against Benin at Buenos Aires' Estadio Monumental, functioning as a farewell to the 2022 World Cup-winning squad
- Messi will continue at club level with Inter Miami on a contract running through 2028, when he will be 41 years old
- Argentina's trophy haul under Messi includes two Copa Americas and the 2022 World Cup, after he had previously retired from international duty in 2016 following a missed penalty against Chile
- Messi finished the 2022 World Cup with 7.91 non-penalty expected goals plus expected assists — more than 10% greater than second-placed Kylian Mbappe — alongside 8 goals and 4 assists in the tournament
- Xavi claimed earlier in 2026 that Barcelona president Joan Laporta blocked Messi's return to Camp Nou in 2023 for political reasons, ending hopes of a Barcelona swan song
- Messi has scored 931 career goals and could reach 1,000 at his current rate in roughly 80 more club games
Why it matters: Messi exits international football still posting per-game output that ranks him among the planet's elite, including a 7.91 npxG+xA at the 2022 World Cup that topped Mbappe by more than 10%, yet he has committed his final playing years to MLS rather than the Champions League — a choice the piece frames as a loss for fans who will never see his late-career prime tested against Europe's best.
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