FIFA rules block Argentina from retiring Messi's No.10 as legend bids farewell

Lionel Messi brought his Argentina career to an end on Tuesday night as the hosts beat Benin 3-0 in a farewell friendly at a packed 85,000-capacity stadium in Buenos Aires — but the iconic No.10 shirt he wore throughout that journey will not be retired, blocked by FIFA’s strict squad-numbering regulations.

The match was paused in the 10th minute as the entire crowd rose to give Messi a standing ovation, a moment that underlined the scale of what Argentina are losing. Yet despite the outpouring of emotion, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has no path to honouring him the way clubs have honoured their legends.

FIFA regulations for major competitive tournaments — including the World Cup and official confederation championships — require national teams to register squads using consecutive numbers from 1 up to the squad limit, typically 1 to 26. No gaps are permitted, meaning no number can be withheld from an active player.

This is not the first time Argentina have faced this obstacle. When Diego Maradona retired ahead of the 2002 World Cup, the AFA attempted to retire the No.10 in his honour. FIFA rejected the request outright and forced Argentina to submit a sequentially numbered squad, with Ariel Ortega ultimately inheriting the shirt.

The contrast with club football is stark. Serie A, the Premier League, and Major League Soccer all permit clubs to permanently retire numbers. Napoli retired Maradona’s No.10 after his death in 2020, and AC Milan have retired Paolo Maldini’s No.3 — gestures that international governing bodies simply cannot accommodate under their current framework.

Argentina do retain one symbolic option: in unofficial friendlies and exhibition matches, the AFA can choose to leave the No.10 unassigned as a tribute. That flexibility vanishes the moment an official squad list is submitted for a World Cup, Copa America, or qualifying campaign.

When competitive football resumes, Argentina will be required to assign the number to a new player. Midfielders Thiago Almada and Alexis Mac Allister have been mentioned as potential heirs, though whoever inherits the shirt will do so under the weight of following the greatest player in the history of the game.