Will Argentina retire Lionel Messi’s No. 10 jersey?
· Yahoo Sports
Lionel Messi’s Argentina career comes to an end Tuesday night, when the 39-year-old takes the field against Benin for one final appearance with the national team. It will close a remarkable international career that has produced 207 appearances, 125 goals, a World Cup and two Copa América titles.
The natural question is what happens to Messi’s No. 10 jersey after the final whistle. A player of his stature would ordinarily be a strong candidate for the ultimate jersey honor, but international soccer operates under a very different system.
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Argentina cannot officially retire Lionel Messi’s No. 10 jersey
Argentina forward Lionel Messi (10). Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.Argentina cannot permanently retire Messi’s No. 10 for its official international competitions under current FIFA regulations. FIFA’s World Cup rules require participating teams to assign numbers from 1 through 26 to their players, with No. 1 reserved for a goalkeeper. That means Argentina cannot simply leave No. 10 vacant when it submits its tournament squad.
The restriction is not new or specifically aimed at Messi. Argentina previously faced the same issue with Diego Maradona’s No. 10. The Argentine Football Association wanted to retire the number in his honor, but FIFA regulations prevented it from being permanently removed from the squad numbering system.
Argentina could still find ways to honor Messi outside official tournament requirements. During friendlies, the federation has more flexibility and could choose not to use No. 10, effectively preserving it as a symbolic tribute. But once Argentina enters a FIFA competition such as the World Cup, the number must be available for assignment.
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American sports make retiring a number much easier than international soccer
The contrast with American sports is striking because jersey retirement is deeply embedded in the culture of professional franchises. The NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL all have long histories of teams permanently taking numbers out of circulation to honor legendary players.
The key difference is that an American professional team is a fixed franchise with its own roster and number system. Retiring a number simply means that franchise will never assign it to another player. International soccer is different: Argentina represents an entire country, while FIFA organizes competitions with standardized squad-number rules that apply to every participating national team.
Soccer itself is not opposed to retiring numbers. Liverpool retired No. 20 across its men’s, women’s and academy teams in honor of Diogo Jota after his death in 2025. Birmingham City also retired Jude Bellingham’s No. 22 after his breakthrough season.
Argentina’s No. 10 will eventually belong to another player, even if nobody will ever be able to fill it in quite the same way Messi did.
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