Argentina Blocked From Retiring Messi’s No.10 Shirt Due To FIFA Rules

Argentina are unable to retire the No.10 shirt in honour of Lionel Messi due to FIFA rules.

However, they can still honour his legacy by leaving the shirt vacant for non-tournament fixtures.

Messi will make his final appearance for his country against Benin in a friendly on Tuesday, as reported by talkSPORT.

It follows his decision to retire from international football last month.

The 39-year-old is Argentina’s all-time leading scorer and appearance maker with 125 goals in 207 caps.

He has also won the World Cup and two Copa Americas since making his senior national team debut aged 18 in 2005.

Messi has worn the iconic No.10 shirt for Argentina since 2009, having previously worn both 18 and 19 at his first two major tournaments.

Following Juan Roman Riquelme’s retirement, though, he inherited the jersey, which has remained as Messi’s since.

However, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) will not be able to officially retire the No.10 shirt despite president Claudio Tapia expressing his desire to do so.

FIFA’s international tournament rules require teams to assign numbers in order to each member of their squads.

Also Read: Messi Confirmed As New Owner Of Spanish Football Club

In practice, this saw the 26-man squads at the World Cup handed numbers from one to 26.

As a result, Argentina will have to assign the No.10 shirt at World Cup finals and the Copa America in future even in Messi’s absence.

There remain ways to honour the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner away from major tournaments, though.

The shirt can be left unused for international friendlies and World Cup qualifiers.

Argentina did not issue the No.10 for Wednesday’s friendly win over Bolivia, with Messi not part of the squad.

This will also be the case against Burkina Faso on Saturday ahead of Messi’s farewell game three days later.

James Agberebi is a sports content creator and analyst with a passion for football and other sports. He writes sports news, match reports, and analysis to keep fans informed about the latest developments in the sporting world. James has covered international matches involving both Nigeria’s men’s and women’s national teams. His experience covering Nigerian football gives him a good understanding of the game and the teams he writes about. Through his work with Complete Sports, James shares sports updates, match coverage, and analysis with readers in Nigeria and around the world.