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AFA to honor Messi in every Argentine stadium after his national-team retirement
🇧🇴 Bolivia /Sports

AFA to honor Messi in every Argentine stadium after his national-team retirement

From El Deber · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • The Argentine Football Association said matches in all men’s and women’s competitions will stop after 10 minutes for a minute of applause honoring Lionel Messi.
  • Stadiums with screens will show an AFA tribute video before matches, featuring images from Messi’s national-team career.
  • Messi announced his retirement after more than 200 appearances, 125 goals and 68 assists for Argentina, with major titles including the 2022 World Cup and Copa América trophies in 2021 and 2024.

Argentina’s football authorities will stop matches across the country to applaud Lionel Messi. At the next round of fixtures in every men’s and women’s competition, including 11-a-side football, futsal and beach football, play will pause after 10 minutes of the first half.

The Argentine Football Association said stadiums with screens should also show an institutional video before matches. The nearly two-minute tribute features Messi in the national team’s famous sky-blue and white shirt, followed by a farewell message: “Thank you for bringing an entire country together behind this shield. We will miss you.”

Thank you for bringing an entire country together behind this shield. We will miss you.

— Argentine Football AssociationMessage in the association’s tribute video for Messi.

Messi, Argentina’s captain and No. 10, announced his decision in a handwritten letter. “I gave everything, I have nothing more to give, and there are also some very talented young players coming through who deserve their chance,” he wrote.

The forward made more than 200 appearances for Argentina and scored 125 goals with 68 assists. His international honors include the 2022 World Cup, the 2021 and 2024 Copa América titles, and the 2022 Finalissima, as well as the 2005 Under-20 World Cup and Olympic gold in 2008.

I gave everything, I have nothing more to give, and there are also some very talented young players coming through who deserve their chance.

— Lionel MessiStatement in his handwritten retirement letter.
About this summary

Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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