Teammates and fans bid emotional farewell to Messi

From former and current teammates to tearful fans outside the Monumental Stadium, tributes poured in for Argentine great Lionel Messi on Wednesday as the country prepared to bid farewell to its captain in his final international appearance.

Brazilian star Neymar, Messi’s former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain teammate and longtime friend, said the world should be grateful for everything the Argentine had given football.

“It’s not only Argentina that thanks you, the world thanks you for everything you have done for football,” Neymar wrote on Instagram, hours before Messi was due to play his 208th and final game for Argentina against Benin.

“Thank you for making me love football even more. It was an honour for me to have played against you and even more so to make history alongside you.”

For Rodrigo De Paul, Messi’s close friend, Argentina teammate and Inter Miami colleague, the impact went far beyond football.

“He made me grow not only as a footballer, but also as a person. I became a better person, a better human being, a better athlete, a better father and a better friend,” De Paul said in a farewell message.

“I want to tell him that I love him. He knows that he is my brother and that he has an enormous heart.”

Former Argentina teammate Angel Di Maria said it was a day nobody had wanted to come.

“Seeing him with so much happiness, and that tranquillity of knowing that he gave everything he had, is what makes us all happy,” Di Maria said. “It will be a very special day for everyone. I thank him for life.”

In Buenos Aires, fans arriving at the Monumental for the Argentina-Benin friendly expressed a mixture of gratitude and sadness.

“I cried because I was able to come and see Messi in his last game, and also because of the sadness of knowing that he won’t be here anymore,” 19-year-old Jose Garracedo told Reuters TV.

For 27-year-old medical student Isaias Zenas, Messi’s importance extended beyond football.

“The last joys we have had as an Argentine people, we owe to him,” he said. “All the cups he brought us, with the country in a bad economic situation, people who are struggling have their refuge in football. How could we not come here at this moment to say goodbye to him?”

Messi, who helped Argentina win the World Cup and two Copa America titles, entered his final international with a national-record 125 goals and 68 assists.

Before his final goodbye, Messi offered a simple message of his own:

“I leave in peace. I gave everything.”