Maradona style: FIFA denies Argentina the chance to give Messi a historic tribute

He surprised everyone by announcing his retirement from international football.

Lionel Messi stunned the football world on Monday, with the Inter Miami star announcing his retirement from international football with Argentina.

In an official statement posted on his Instagram account, Messi wrote: "After all this time since the final match, and after a great deal of thought, I want to announce to everyone that I have decided to retire from playing with the national team."

According to "Marca", Messi's legendary number 10 shirt now awaits someone who can carry the weight of this historic number. It is a task that borders on impossible. Nico Paz, Mac Allister, Enzo, Almada?

Many voices in Argentina, just as they did with Diego Maradona, are now calling for the number 10 to be retired.

They want to honour the legend and ensure Argentina never play with the number 10 again. Fulfilling the wish of so many is no easy matter.

Back in 2024, Claudio Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association, told the newspaper "Sport": "The national team's number 10 shirt will be retired when Messi ends his international career." The Argentine Association's intention seems clear enough.

Marca confirmed that the matter is not so simple. FIFA regulations strictly prohibit the removal of a shirt number from its tournaments, though friendly matches are another matter.

FIFA requires that the numbers at the World Cup, for example, run from 1 to 26 with no number omitted. Argentina's request therefore clashes head-on with the rules.

This dream, shared by most Argentines, has a precedent: the dream of Diego Maradona.

On 25 September 2001, the Argentine Football Association voted unanimously, on the initiative of its then president Julio Grondona, to retire the number 10 shirt in honour of Diego.

The plan was to do it before the 2002 World Cup, and the matter seemed so settled that the newspaper "Olé" splashed a front-page headline: "It is God's will." And so it was. The number 10 shirt would be retired.

But no. FIFA blocked it, and Ariel "El Burrito" Ortega wore the number 10 at the 2002 World Cup, the player who wore it most between the eras of Diego and Messi.

We shall see what happens. One thing seems clear. In the friendly matches, where the rules allow it, no one will wear the number in the fixtures Argentina play in September and October, which are yet to be confirmed. That will be the moment to honour Leo, the owner of the number 10.