Lionel Messi has retired from international football, playing his last match for Argentina against Benin in Buenos Aires on October 6, 2026. But reports have since emerged accusing the Argentine Football Association (AFA) of preventing Benin's players and staff from several things after the friendly ended.
Before kickoff, Benin's players presented Messi with a statue, a letter from the team, and a rose. According to the reports, however, the post-match celebrations meant Benin's players and staff could not get closer to Messi afterward.
Speaking to French radio station RMC, Benin's German manager Gernot Rohr said security prevented his players and staff from entering Argentina's dressing room or even the tunnel area once the match had finished. "The Argentinians gave our players nothing," he said. "Not even a photo of Messi. We wanted to exchange jerseys, but we didn't get a single one."
Rohr added that his only keepsake from the occasion was a signed Messi jersey from 2018, which he received only after Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni intervened on his behalf.
Journalist Romain Molina further claimed that Benin's players and staff received no bonus from the match. "No bonuses, not a single centime returned from the generated revenue, no jerseys exchanged, not one photo, and banned from entering the Argentine corridor! Everything goes to do business on the backs of those treated like mere props," he wrote on social media.
Neither the Argentine nor Benin football federations have officially commented on the claims. The match marked the 208th and final international appearance of Messi's career, played out before a packed Estadio Monumental in the Núñez district of Buenos Aires.
