The Argentine Football Association have called up club legend Lionel Messi for the friendly against Benin on 6 October at River Plate's Monumental stadium, giving him the chance to bid farewell to the Argentine fans on home soil after announcing his international retirement on 31 August.
The match will double up as a celebration. Messi will be joined by every player who lined up alongside the captain to lift the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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His name featured among a list of 28 players the AFA officially named for three upcoming fixtures. Argentina start against Bolivia on 30 September in Córdoba, then face Burkina Faso on 3 October at the Monumental, before the friendly against Benin at the same ground.
Franco Mastantuono, the Real Madrid player on loan to Fiorentina, returns, as does Villarreal defender Juan Foyth. Several players earn a first call-up too, most notably Gianluca Prestianni (Benfica), Matías Soulé and Santiago Castro (Roma), Román Vega (Zenit) and Agustín Giay (Palmeiras), all of whom took part in the final stage of the Tango squad's camp before the last World Cup.
The AFA spelled out the details of the leaders' involvement in its official statement: "The players Lionel Messi, Rodrigo De Paul and Giovani Lo Celso will be present to take part in the final friendly match on 6 October. Meanwhile, the technical staff will announce the names of the players called up from the domestic league next Friday."
Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia, the AFA president, broke the news of Messi's farewell appearance himself. "To all the fans of the Argentine national team, I would like to inform you that after a conversation I had with the head coach of the senior team, Lionel Scaloni, we decided to extend an invitation to the best player in the world, the symbol of our national team and our captain, Lionel Andrés Messi, so that he can receive the tribute and farewell he truly deserves on 6 October here in Argentina," he said in an official video.