Everyone in Benin Wants Messi’s Farewell Shirt

Argentina’s upcoming match is more than just a friendly. It marks a special moment in Lionel Messi’s international career, as the Argentina captain is set to bring his celebrated journey in the national team shirt to an end against Benin.

Naturally, Messi’s farewell shirt is expected to become a treasured piece of memorabilia. And according to Benin goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou, almost everyone in his team wants to get their hands on it.

Dandjinou has even made a request to the Argentina Football Association (AFA): if possible, provide a shirt for every Benin player so that nobody has to compete for Messi’s final national-team jersey.

“Ask anyone in my team and you’ll see that everyone wants that shirt,” Dandjinou said. “So it would be great if they could make several shirts and give one to each player. If only one person wanted it, maybe it would be easier, but I don’t think it will be easy because we all want it.”

Messi is expected to wear a special edition shirt for the match. The design will feature a lighter shade of blue as the main colour, with a single white stripe across the middle. His name and iconic No. 10 will be printed in gold on the back.

Argentina will face Benin at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, with the match scheduled to kick off at 5:00am Bangladesh time on Wednesday.

It will be the final time Messi takes the field for Argentina in the iconic sky-blue and white shirt.

And for the players of Benin, getting that final Messi shirt has already become a special ambition.