Lionel Messi played his final match for Argentina in a 3-0 friendly win over Benin, and Manchester City midfielder Enzo Fernandez broke down in tears on the pitch during the post-match farewell ceremony.
Messi, 39, ended his international career on a high, assisting goals for Nicolas Otamendi and Nico Paz before scoring the third himself. Fernandez started the match and was substituted late on as part of a quadruple change that also saw Alexis Mac Allister, Cristian Romero and Lautaro Martinez come off.
Emotional farewell at Estadio Monumental
All players returned to the pitch as Messi delivered his farewell speech. Fernandez and Romero were both captured tearing up and struggling to contain their emotions during the ceremony. Messi himself had to pause during the speech to compose himself.
Asked afterwards about being involved in such a historic night, Fernandez said, in quotes translated into English from Spanish: "A very exciting day to be honest, a lot of mixed feelings. I hope Leo enjoyed that we are going to miss him a lot."
Before the match, Manchester City's summer signing shared three training photos of himself alongside Messi on Instagram, captioned: "Thank you forever".
A decade of shared moments
In 40 of the 51 caps Fernandez has for Argentina, he shared a pitch with Messi. Those games include the 2024 Copa America final and the 2022 and 2026 World Cup finals. They combined for six goals during that time, the last being Argentina's equaliser against England in the World Cup semi-finals.
Messi's assist on that occasion returned the favour from two years earlier, when Fernandez set up his goal in their Copa America semi-final win over Canada. Argentina went on to win that tournament by beating Colombia after extra time in the final.
That was the last trophy Messi lifted as Argentina captain, after they lost this summer's World Cup final to Spain. The skipper then announced his impending retirement in the aftermath of the defeat.
Fernandez tribute and return to City
Fernandez posted an emotional statement on social media in response to the news, saying in part: "We shared rallies, locker rooms, talks, hugs, difficult times, and amazing moments, and we ended up being world champions together."
"But most of all, I will always thank you for how you've been with me since I arrived. I came in excited to share the pitch with my idol, and I met a person who, from the very first moment, made me feel like one more."
"You always had a word, advice, a hug or just a way to make me feel at ease when I needed it. I will never forget that."
The 25-year-old midfielder is now on his way back to City headquarters for their Premier League clash away at Liverpool. It will be Enzo Maresca's outfit's first match since the Premier League found them guilty on all financial charges levelled against them.
