Football

Gracias, Leo: the night the Monumental said goodbye to Messi

By Pavana · October 7, 2026

Some farewells are quiet. Lionel Messi's was not. On October 6, at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina beat Benin 3-0 in the last international match of his career, and the scoreline was the least of what the night carried.

A stadium that would not sit still

The emotion arrived long before kickoff. Outlook India reported visible tears on the team bus, and the pre-match show filled the Monumental with Argentine music from artists including Soledad Pastorutti, Ulises Bueno, Amar Azul and Damas Gratis, in front of a crowd reported at around 85,000.

Then a giant Argentina No. 10 shirt was unfurled with a single word on it: "Gracias".

The stands answered with the only chant the night needed: "Messi, Messi, Messi!"

Tears at the anthem

When the national anthem began, Messi was in tears. Coach Lionel Scaloni, Outlook India reported, was visibly emotional too.

Messi had walked out in a special commemorative jersey, a detail that marked the night as something special. At the 10-minute mark, fittingly, the stadium paused for a tribute to the man who wore that number.

One more lap

The football gave the evening what it wanted: a corner from Messi, an Otamendi header, a goal from Nico Paz, and a penalty that Messi converted himself, his 126th for Argentina. But the image that will last came after the final whistle.

His teammates swarmed him. The referee and the Benin players walked over to greet him, with a couple of them asking for selfies, a scene that said as much as any tribute.

Then a drone light show lit up the stadium and Messi set off on one last lap.

The end of something, the start of a memory

At 39, Messi said goodbye to the shirt in Buenos Aires, in front of the people he had played it for. The Monumental gave him something no scoreline can: a night when everyone in the building wanted the same thing, which was to say thank you. Gracias, Leo.