A shirt made for one night only
Gold lettering. That is the detail everyone fixed on when Argentina unveiled the shirt Lionel Messi will wear for his last international match.
Adidas built a one-off for the occasion. The sky-blue and white stripes survive, but the name and number are picked out in gold, with the Sun of May sitting behind them.
Messi posted the first image himself. Five words did the job: “Last match… A shirt for life.” CONMEBOL shared it minutes later.
One question is still open. Adidas has said nothing about whether the shirt goes on general sale or stays locked to the night of October 6.
Try it for $0.99.
October 6, at the Monumental
The venue was never in doubt. Messi says goodbye at River Plate’s Monumental, in a friendly against Benin. Ticket prices went out on Monday and demand is expected to be enormous.
He announced his international retirement at the end of August, a few weeks after a 2026 World Cup that finished with Spain lifting the trophy. At 39, he closes a chapter that opened in 2005 with his first cap.
The numbers take a moment to process. Argentina’s record appearance maker. Their top scorer. Eight Ballons d’Or. And yet he had to wait until the 2021 Copa America at the Maracana for a first major title with his country. Qatar 2022 came next, then a second Copa America in 2024.
Twenty-one years, and then nothing
Twenty-one years separate his first cap from his last. The 2022 world champions now have to work out what they look like without him.
And then there is that gold shirt, already a collector’s item before anyone has pulled it on. If Adidas does put it out, it will not sit on the shelves.
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