Argentina to retire Lionel Messi’s famous Number 10 jersey post his retirement: Official
Years after attempting to pay homage to the late Diego Maradona by trying to retire his famous number 10 jersey, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has again raised its voice to do so for the modern-day great and World Cup winner Lionel Messi. Much like the legendary Maradona — still regarded as the greatest of his time, Messi – perhaps the most decorated footballer in history, also wears the same number jersey.
After Diego Maradona retired from football, the then-AFA president Julio Grondona and several other officials decided against allocating the number ten jersey to anyone in the national side.
However, FIFA denied their request considering their rule, which dictates that each team must use jersey numbers from 1 to 23 in top-tier tournaments, including the World Cup.
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Following AFA’s decision to retire the number 10 jersey in tribute to Maradona, Ariel Ortega was chosen as the last Argentinian player to don the iconic number in the game against Peru. Afterwards, Lionel Messi took over the number ten jersey.
In Messi’s tributeModern day’s greatest footballer, Lionel Messi, won his maiden World Cup with Argentina in Qatar in 2022, beating defending champions France in a penalty shootout thriller. The trophy further cemented his place as one of the mightiest players of his times.
Now, in his tribute, AFA president Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia said the least they can do is retire the number 10 jersey that Messi wears (after he retires from national football) after what all he did for his country over the years.
«When Messi retires from the national team, we will not allow anyone else to wear the
